The Heirs of Durin
by jepenner
Summary: An Exploration of the princes of Durin in their younger years. Fluffiness, family, and feels abound! Don't for get to R&R!
1. Chapter 1

1: Brothers

Fili held his father's hand, skipping as they walked along. At long, long last, he was a big brother! Mama had had her baby this morning, and he was going to meet him!

"I love it when this happens!" he said.

His father smiled.

"When what happens, Fili?"

"Babies!" Fili bellowed happily.

"It is quite something, isn't it?" his father mused. "But Fili, I need you to listen, because I have some instructions for you."

Fili looked at his father, wide-eyed.

"When we go in to see your mother, we need to be very quiet. The baby is still very small, and loud noises might hurt his ears and scare him. You can talk to mama if you want, but we'll need to talk very quietly. And no running about, either," he said, squeezing Fili's hand. "I know you've got a lot of energy and you're excited to see mama, but we need to be very quiet and gentle. If you ran into mama or the baby accidentally, you could really hurt them."

Fili nodded seriously. He clutched his father's hand tighter.

"Something wrong, Fee?" his father asked gently.

Fili was quiet for a moment.

"What if he don't like me?" he whispered, horrified at the thought.

His father scooped him up in his arms. Normally, he'd have corrected his son's grammar, but decided this wasn't the time.

"He's your brother, Fili. You'll love him as much as your mama and I do. You'll be the best of friends, you'll see."

As they rounded a corner, the guards stood aside to let them in. The sight of Thorin, who was pacing, greeted them. He looked up at his brother in law, and his face broke into a wide smile.

"A boy, Ronan."

He drew his brother-in-law into a hug, slapping him on the back.

Ronan laughed.

"I know! I"ve brought Fili to meet him."

Ronan set Fili down on the ground, and he ran to meet his uncle.

"Unca Forin!"

"Hello, Fili. Have you been good for your da?"

Fili nodded. " I saw a cat comin here! it had grey whispers."

Thorin laughed.

"Whiskers?"

"That's what I said, Unca Forin," said Fili, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

A healer appeared at Ronan's elbow.

"You can go in now," she said smiling.

Thorin, Ronan, and Fili trooped into the bedroom.

Fili's mother, Dis, was holding a small dwarfling in her arms, who was fast asleep.

Dis smiled at her husband, who crossed the room and kissed her. She looked at Fili and smiled.

"Come and meet your brother, Fili."

Fili had to restrain himself from scampering across the room and launching himself into his mother's bed. He walked up and stood at the edge of the bed, peering up at his mother.

"How are you? Are you being good for daddy?"

Fili nodded.

"That's a boy," she said, running a hand over his blond hair.

"Can I see him?" he asked.

"Of course!" Dis answered, her voice quiet, but happy. She held up the baby so he could see. Even on his very tippy-toes, Fili still couldn't see.

"Can I sit on your lap?" he asked shyly.

"How about you sit next to me, and you can hold your baby brother?" Dis asked. She was still sore from labor -it would have gone over Fili's head to explain why laps were out of the question.

Fili nodded eagerly.

Ronan scooped him up and deposited him onto the enormous bed next to his mother. He sat, his feet sticking out in front of him, and held his arms out.

Dis patiently taught him how to hold the baby and support his neck.

"We have to watch his head, because his neck is very flopsy. If his head snaps back, that could really hurt him."

Fili studied his brother. He had a mop of dark, curly hair, like his mother's. He opened his eyes- they were deep brown, like Dis and Thorins. Had Fili been old enough to notice, he'd have seen that they were clever and bright, already hinting at a spark of mischief. A tiny hand stretched out from the blankets.

Fili looked at his parents and Thorin, exhilerated.

"He waved at me!" he said, his voice shaking with suppressed excitement.

"Hi, baby!" he said.

"His name is Kili," said Ronan quietly.

"Hi baby brother Kili! I'm Fili. I'm your brother." suddenly, he remembered his manners. Introductions were necessary.

"That's mama. She's very nice - she makes the best cakes! And that's da - he's nice too. He's soo strong, and he can use a sword! I'm gonna use a sword too when I'm big, and when your big I'll teach you!"

Dis, Ronan, and Thorin hid their smiles as Fili quietly prattled on.

"And that's Unca Forin. He's nice, but he's serious. He fights with a big sword! When we get big, we'll protect the house from orcs, like da does."

Dis, Thorin, and Ronan exchanged a look. Fili had obviously been paying attention to the adult's conversation. But Fili paid no heed, rambling on to his brother, who was watching him, brown eyes wide. Fili had broached the topic of cooking – a favorite among dwarves.

"What's your favorite food? Mine's cake, but mama only lets me have some on special days. You're gonna love cake, Kee – it's sweet, and good. We have it on Durin's day, and mama makes a special one with almonds on my birthday. Maybe you'll get a special almond cake on your birthday too, Kee!"

he paused for breath, studying his brother. Kili squirmed a bit, but didn't cry; his tiny hand rubbed his eyes and brushed an already unruly lock of hair.

You gots dark hair, Kee - like mama! I gots light hair, like Da. He and Thorin have beards - big ones! And when we're big, we'll have big beards too!"

Kili began to squirm and fuss. His face scrunched up in a frown and he began to cry. Fili looked panicked.

"He's sad! Why's he sad?"

"He's not sad, Fili - he's hungry. That's his way of telling us," explained Dis, discreetly adjusting her nightgown so that she could nurse. She gently took Kili back.

Fili began peppering his parents with questions. Why was he so small? Why did he need to eat from mama? Why couldn't he have solid food? When would he get bigger? What was his favorite food? Did he like cake too?

Kili quietly finished his dinner, but then began fussing. But when Fili began talking to him again, Kili immediately calmed down at his brother's voice, watching him attentively.

Fili talked long into the afternoon, telling him all of the things they would do once they were bigger.

"We'll hunt bugs and worms and eat mama's cakes and visit Unca Forin, and we'll go and see the mines and the jewels and other shiny things, and we'll visit Mr. Bofur with his funny hat, and Mr. Balin will give us lessons, and..."

Dis and Ronan looked at each other and smiled. They were best friends already.


	2. Chapter 2

Ronan surveyed the scene in his family room and smiled proudly. Dis sat in the rocking chair with Fili on her lap. The two of them were reading together, with Fili sounding out the easier words.

"And then, the dwarf said to the..."

"Cat!" Fili said.

"yes, that's right. The dwarf said to the cat, "no, you may not have cream, for you did not catch any mice today. If you catch mice tomorrow, you may have cream. Now,..."

" Scat, Cat!"

"very good, Fili!"

A baby's voice gurgled next to them: Kili was standing, hanging on to the edge of the loveseat for dear life, edging his way closer to Ronan. He stood on wobbling, chubby legs, his wide brown eyes peering curiously up at his father.

"Hello, Kili," said Roman, running a hand through the unruly brown curls. Kili babbled back happily, clearly quite proud of himself at having maneuvered over to his father.

"Shall we go and see mama?" Ronan asked. He stood, and took both of Kili's hands, helping him walk towards his mother and brother.

Dis and Fili stopped their reading and watched him.

Kili began to fuss, pulling his hands out of his father's grip. He wobbled a bit, but stayed upright. Dis gently set Fili on the ground and sat on the ground, holding out her arms to Kili.

"Mama, what are you doing?" Fili asked.

Dis smiled at her firstborn.

"I want to see if he'll walk."

Both parents watched as Kili wobbled again, then cautiously put one foot in front of another. He wobbled, toppled, and landed on his bottom.

"Whoops!" Ronan said.

Kili looked at his parents, his lip trembling a bit.

"That's alright, love," said Dis brightly "You're alright!"

"Shall we try again?" said Ronan, picking Kili up so that he could stand again.

"Come on, Kee- you can do it!" Fili cheered him on.

Kili stood for a minute, his expression confused - then, a hard, determined look came over his face. He stepped forward - one, two, three, four steps! He toppled forward, but Dis caught him before he hit the ground.

"Yay, Kili!" crowed his brother.

"Well done!" Dis gushed, planting kisses all over her son's round cheeks.

Kili laughed and clapped his tiny hands- this was a very great game.

Dis turned him around so that he could try again, walking towards his father.

He was still a bit unsteady, and stepped backward, losing his balance and landing in his mother's lap. Unhurt, he giggled again, craning his neck to look up at his mother.

Dis was laughing too.

"Can you go to daddy?" she asked, encouraging.

Kili stood again, and stepped towards his father.

Ronan opened his arms. Kili stepped, then stepped again.

What happened next amazed everyone - with a look of mischief, Kili ran - actually RAN, launching himself at his brother. The two dwarflings collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles.

Dis and Ronan burst out laughing- both in surprise and from the look on Kili's face when he saw his brother.

Ronan joined the merry fray, tickling his two sons until they were shrieking with laughter.

"Mama," cried Fili through his giggles, "Save me, mama!"

Dis shrugged, then joined in tickling her two sons and her husband. Soon, it was just Dis and Ronan tickling each other, squirming and laughing. Kili and Fili looked at each other in amazement - their parents had never done this before.

Dis was attacking her husband's midsection, and Ronan's belly laugh filled the room. The minute Dis stopped, he looked at his wife with the same mischievous twinkle that Kili had just done to his brother.

"Right, boys, on the count of three, everybody hug mama! One, two, three!"

"Wait, what - ah!"

The two dwarflings and her husband had knocked her clean over, hugging her and covering her face with kisses.

She threw back her head and laughed with abandon - something she'd not done since before Erabor had been lost.

Eventually, the overflow of glee subsided, and the family lay happily on the ground, talking.

Ronan began to tell a story about a troll and a princess, and Dis watched her two son's faces as they listened, wide-eyed with wonderment, looking nervous at all the scary parts, and cheering at all the good ones.

She thought of her brother, Thorin. He had always been serious, but she'd noticed his mood had turned dark after the loss of Erabor. She mourned her homeland as he did, but she was concerned - it filled his every waking thought. Watching her husband and sons, Dis wished that he might someday have this same joy.

"FEE!"

Everyone turned and looked at Kili. He was smiling broadly, looking at his brother. He pointed at Fili and spoke again, stretching his arms to the ceiling.

"Fee!" he bellowed again.

Dis scooped him up in her arms.

"Yes, Kili - that's your brother! That's Fili! Ronan, did you hear...?"

"His first word! I know!"

Dis looked at Fili, feeling tears well in her eyes.

Fili was staring at his younger brother, his cheeks burning from the wide smile that nearly split his little face in two.

"Hey, baby brother Kili." he said quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

3\. Picnic and First Words

\- chicken antics, Kili's first word

"Fili, Kili - come and eat, supper is ready!"

Fili came running to the blanket that his parents had spread out on the ground, Kili toddling after him on strong, stocky legs.

"oooh, Kee - look!" Fili said to his brother. He pointed to the food that had been spread out - bread, strawberries, boiled eggs, an apple tart, and a whole roast chicken.

Kili could eat solid food now, if it wasn't too hard, and soon the whole family was tucking in with gusto.

Kili picked up each item of food, eyeing it curiously in the way babies do, before putting it in his mouth.

Fili chattered happily to his parents about what had happened that day - Mr. Balin had taught him all of his letters now, and he'd begun to learn basic sword positions with a small carved wooden sword that Thorin had made him.

Soon, their dinner was finished, and Dis cut slices of apple tart. Fili munched happily on his, while Kili eyed his portion suspiciously. He stuck his finger into the gooey filling, then brought it to his mouth. his eyes lit up - apple tart, it seemed, was delicious.

He tucked into his helping with as much gusto as his brother.

Soon the family was full, having filled up on bread and chicken and apple tart. Fili was feeling full and a bit sleepy, and stretched out on the blanket with his head on his father's leg. Ronan affectionately stroked his son's temple with his thumb, harking back to when FIli was a baby.

But Kili, for whom solid food was a new, exciting world, found renewed interest in the chicken carcass that lay on it's plate on the ground. Standing, he came close to it. Flinging his arms out to his side for balance, he lowered his head and sank his teeth into the chicken.

Dis, Ronan, and Fili doubled over with laughter.

Kili chomped on his mouthful, watching his parents. Though he didn't get the joke, he laughed too.

"Kee - you silly goose! Do you want some chicken?" Dis could hardly speak for laughing.

Regaining her composure, she took a fork and twisted off some of the breast meet, holding it out for Kili.

He ignored it, and sank his teeth into the whole chicken again. It had been a great lark once, and his parents had laughed - why not again?

"Kili, I've got you a piece of chicken here - eat this," said Dis,still struggling not to laugh.

He took the chicken in his fist and gummed it. He chewed a bit, then smiled brightly up at his father, bits of chicken stuck in his teeth.

Fili was still giggling at his brother's antics.

Ronan smiled.

"Kee's funny!" Fili said.

Kili held up his partially-eaten bit of chicken, his big brown eyes meeting his brother's blue ones.

"Fee?" he said, offering his brother a bite.

Fili's eyebrows went up. His brother had slobbered all over it!

"You don't have to take it, Fili," Ronan whispered to him.

"No thanks, kee - I'm full." he said.

"Good sharing, Kili!" Ronan praised him. He winked at Fili.

Soon Kili grew sleepy too, and Dis held Kili while Ronan packed up their picnic. He held Fili in his arms as they walked home.

Dis looked at her husband.

He held Fili close to him, nuzzling his firstborn's blond hair. He caught her looking at him and smiled. Dis felt butterflies, even now - he only ever smiled like that at her.

"Good day?" she asked quietly.

"The best," said Ronan, leaning over to kiss her temple.


	4. Chapter 4

"Mamaaa!"

Dis' eyes flew open at the sound of her firstborn's panicked voice.

"Mamaaaaaaaaaa!"

She scrambled out of bed, Ronan grunting beside her.

"Whasamatter?"

"It's Kili."

"He'll be alright, 's go back to sleep," Ronan mumbled.

But Dis hadn't heard him; she was already halfway to the boy's room. She opened the door to find both boys sitting up, Kili choking on his sobs, with Fili rubbing his back.

"Hey, baby boy... what happened?" Dis walked over to the bed, but stopped short - an enormous pool of sick was all over the floor and the sheets.

"Ohh, Kili, did you throw up?"she asked, gathering her youngest into her arms.

Kili nodded.

"I'm sick, mama. I frew up all over and it's yucky... i feel yucky..." he choked on his sobs, then began to retch again, and Dis quickly maneuvered a waste bin under his chin just in time.

Fili was watching, his nose scrunching up at the smell.

"Fili, honey, can you go get your da, please?"

Fili scampered off the bed and into his parent's room.

"Da?"

"hmm?"

"Kili's sick."

"Hmmm."

"He threw up."

Ronan sat up and rubbed his face, then flung back the covers.

"Well, let's go help him, then," he croaked, his mouth dry and throat scratchy from sleep.

Ronan stripped the sheets while Dis gave Kili a quick bath, murmuring soft reassurances.

"Mama, I want to help," said Fili.

"You're being a big help just doing what you're doing, Fee."

"I'm not doing anything!"

"You're doing more than you think, son," said Ronan, who was passing by, holding the soiled sheets at arm's length. "Mama's gonna need you to hand her some things in a minute."

"That's right," said Dis. "For instance, could you hand me that bar of soap?"

Fili handed her a cake of soft, white soap.

"I like that stuff," he said thoughtfully. "It smells good."

"yellow one's better," said Kili, who, despite looking decidedly green, had not lost his sense of humor.

"But it's honeysuckle - that's mama's!"

"Kili, have you been using my soap?" Dis shot him a look and Kili giggled sheepishly.

"Smells good," he said. "Smells like mama," he added qietly, almost to himself.

Fili couldn't help but agree. Mama did smell nice.

"Fili, could you hand me the towel?"

Kili stood in the bath and his mother wrapped him in a fluffy towel. He still looked pretty peaky. Dis dressed him in a pair of soft pajamas and put him back to bed on clean sheets, with a bowl nearby in case he got sick again.

"Kili, if you get sick, do us a favor, yeah? Aim for the bowl," said Ronan, who did not want to change sheets twice in one night.

"yes, da," said Kili, who was already snuggled up in bed. Ronan had already made Fili a spot on the couch so that he didn't catch his brother's flu.

Dis and Ronan crawled back into bed, and Ronan gathered his wife into his arms.

"Well, I guess that's our adventure for the night. Though i'm sure you'll be sleeping with one ear open?"

"Both ears," said Dis.

Ronan began a series of kisses on the back of her neck, murmuring endearments that steadily grew more and more intimate.

Dis laughed and swatted at his leg.

"We just cleaned up vomit, and that's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Oh, my dear," he nuzzled her ear, "how could I not, with you in the room?"


	5. Chapter 5

Dis looked up from her sewing when she heard a loud thump, followed by dead silence.

She waited for the impending wail that accompanied a hurt dwarfling, but none came - instead, she heard giggling. Putting down the shirt she was mending, she crept towards the boy's room and pushed open the door.

Fili and Kili were jumping on the bed, flinging their arms wide as they sailed through the air.

"Watch me, Fili, I'm a fiewok!"

He gave an extra large bounce, and kept his small body tucked tightly in, then flailed out, shouting "BOOM!"when he reached the hight of his jump.

"Mr Gandalf always has the best fireworks!" crowed Fili. He had seen fireworks before - though, never Mr. Gandalfs, and those were legendary.

"Boys, what are you doing?"

Both boys flumped down onto their bottoms when they heard their mother's voice.

"We were talking about fireworks, mama!" Kili said enthusiastically, trying to distract his mother. "The ones we're gonna see tomorrow! Mr. Gandalf's are the best EVER!"

"Were you jumping on the bed?"

Both boys looked at her shamefacedly.

Dis raised an eyebrow.

"You both know better than that," she said. "Remember what happened last time?"

Kili had lost his balance and fallen into the bedpost, hitting his head - it had hurt terribly, and he'd sported a lump the size of his fist for a week.

"Sorry mama."

"Sorry, mama. We won't do it again."

"I'll hold you both to that. Now, come help me make dinner. We're having soup."

"What kind of soup?"

"Chicken."

"With dumplings?"

Fili looked up at hear eagerly.

Dis gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Well... I suppose I could put dumplings in it..." she smiled at her firstborn, who crowed in delight.

"Yummy!"

Both boys scampered off the bed.

"Can we have cookies?" Kili asked.

"If there's any left," Dis answered, "If you two haven't swiped all of them!" she tickled Kili's ribs and ruffled his hair. She set about putting together soup while the boys set the table. The place settings were a little crooked, but Dis didn't mind. The boys were wiling to help, and far be it from her to turn them down.

Later...

Ronan stretched out on the blanket, feeling full and happy. Dis sat close by, packing up the remains of their picnic. Other families were eating their picnic dinners, laughing and chatting amongst themselves. Thorin was deep in conversation with a few of the older dwarves, including Balin, who was looking very solemn over his tankard of ale.

Fili and Kili were scampering about with the other dwarflings, laughing and giggling.

"She's the monster! Don't let her get you!" crowed Kili, pointing to a tiny young dwarrowdam who had just mastered walking, and was scampering about, giggling and toddling after them - apparently, the game was that she was the "monster", and the other dwarflings were not to be caught by her on any account. She spied an older dwarfling girl who had stopped in a benevolent act of being "caught" in order to make the experience more enjoyable for her. She walked smack into the other girl, who happened to be her sister, hugging her round the middle. The older girl pretended to be shocked, and put her hand to her forehead.

"Save me!" she cried, falling back into a swoon.

"I've been caught!" she said as she slumped to the ground.

"Oh no, not Mali!" said Kili. Playing along, he dropped to his knees next to her and held her hand, looking very worried indeed.

There followed a scene where Mali "died" quite spectacularly, charging the other dwarflings with the protection of her family and the avenging of her honor. Her voice became weaker and more pathetic, and finally she collapsed on the grass, her eyes closed, tongue lolling out.

Kili let out a theatrical sniff.

Fili held his toy sword aloft.

"She shall be avenged!"

he pointed the toy sword at the tiny dwarf.

"Let's get her!"

the group of dwarflings swarmed around the young toddler, hugging and tickling her.

She beamed at the attention, giggling.

Dis smiled. She had instilled in her boys the need to be gentle with other children, especially younger ones. She and Ronan had promised them that they could learn to fight when they were old enough, but first she wanted to instill a protectiveness and gentleness. These things would matter when they married and had families of their own. She'd seen the damage brought about by the aggression of other dwarf men and boys who were started on fighting too early, were not taught to care for others.

Dis knew the necessities of learning to fight - she'd even learnt herself. Every dwarf did. But she and Ronan did not want war to be first in their son's minds.

Suddenly a loud BOOM echoed through the clearing. A firework had gone off - huge, red and gold sparks filling up the night sky.

A few of the dwarfling girls shrieked, and the frightened toddler toppled over and landed on her bottom. Her lip trembled, and she began to howl.

Dis was nearly knocked over as Kili came barreling towards her and flung himself in her lap, covering his ears with his hands.

"Loud!" he wailed.

Dis kissed his mop of brown curls.

"Kili, look!"

His brother pointed, and Kili raised his head - an enormous firework had just exploded, and the sky was full of twinkling green lights.

Kili forgot his fear and watched as more fireworks lit up the sky - blue, yellow, red. But they weren't ordinary fireworks - these looked like animals, trees, birds, mountains. They were lifelike; they moved. A silver hare burst from a jet of blue light that rocketed up, and the firework-hare began clean his whiskers in midair.

Kili turned his head and saw a tall man in a grey robe, watching the amused faces of the crowd and laughing.

"Mama, who is that?" Fili asked.

"That, my dear, is Gandalf."

Fili stared in amazement.

"He's so tall!"

"He's got a funny hat!" said Kili.

His mother shushed him and told him to mind his manners.

Gandalf turned his head and looked streight at the two boys.

They watched him, wide-eyed. They knew their mother would scold them for staring, but they couldn't help it.

Gandalf puffed his pipe, and winked, then shot up a firework that burst into the form of a dog wagging it's tail.

"Da?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Mr. Gandalf nice?"

"He's very nice, Fili. He once saved me from falling into a river."

"Really?" Both boy's eyes grew wide as saucers.

"mhm. I was nearly Fili's age. I'd wandered too near the water, and i shouldn't have done. I tripped over a root or something, and went sailing through the air. Gandalf caught me and set me on my feet. He walked me back home and explained what happened to my mother. She gave me a stern lecture, I can tell you."

Ronan stopped his story and looked at Dis. She had a strange expression on her face, and her brows were furrowed.

"You never told me that story," she said quietly.

"Didn't remember it 'till now," he said.

"Anyway, Mr. Gandalf is very nice, Fili. He helped your mama and uncle after the dragon took Erabor."

They watched the fireworks quietly for a few minutes, exclaiming over the ones they liked. Kili and Fili began muttering to each other so that Dis and Ronan couldn't hear.

Suddenly the boys scrambled to his feet and ran over to Gandalf. Kli pulled on the wizard's robe, and Gandalf bent over and listened attentively as the two boys chattered to him. Gandalf smiled and shook his head, muttering something back. Fili and Kili scampered back to their parents and sat down again.

"Kili, what was all that about?" Ronan asked.

"He said he won't show a dragon."

"What?"

"Mali said he had a dragon firework," Fili explained.

"Fowin don't like dragons, they'd make him scared" said Kili. He thought a minute, then added, " make me scared, too."

Dis and Ronan looked at each other over the top of his head.

Their boys were turning out to be just as big-hearted as they'd hoped.


	6. Chapter 6

Thorin sighed heavily as he trudged up the street. His heart had never been this heavy - even after the fall of Erabor.

Ronan was dead - killed in an accident when a beam of wood had fallen on him in his carpentry shop. He'd been struck in the back of the head, and lay comatose for nearly two days until he quietly died in the wee hours of the morning.

Dis was strong, he knew - but this was a hard blow for her. She and Ronan had been the love of each other's lives. She had adored him from their first meeting, and Ronan had never had eyes for anyone else from the day they met.

Dis was failing to cope. Two young dwarflings who had so much of their father in them, in their different ways, were taking their toll. They were rambunctious, and Thorin wasn't convinced that they were fully aware of what had happened to Ronan.

Dis had sat them down and done her best to keep her composure for her boys, done her best to try to explain - but in the way of young children, their understanding of what had happened was limited. Fili had cried, and Kili looked distressed, but had soon become themselves again. The permanence of death - the absolute, finality of it - was lost on them. Thorin's heart ached for them - their heartbreak would come later, as they grew older.

He came to the door and knocked.

It creaked open, and two pairs of wide eyes peered up at him -one blue, one brown.

"Unca Fowin!" Kili cried, attaching himself to his leg.

"Hi, Uncle," said Fili quietly.

Thorin knelt down and put his arms around his nephews.

"How are you two?"

Fili was very quiet as he looked up at his uncle. His face crumpled, and without a word he buried his head in his uncle's shoulder and stayed like that for a few moments. Thorin hugged him tightly and rubbed his back. When Fili stepped away, his cheeks were pink and his eyes were red.

"I miss da," he wispered.

Thorin ran his hand over the blond head.

"I know, Fee. Me too. How is your momma today?"

"She's in her room," said Fili, scrubbing at his eyes.

Kili looked up at him with wide brown eyes. They were not sparkling and filled with fun - they were the most serious that Thorin had ever seen them.

"Mama's sad, Fowin. Fili's sad too."

Thorin ran his hand through the unruly curls.

"Are you sad, Kili?"

"Mama and Fili are sad, so I'm sad." he said. " Unca Fowin, why's mama 'n Kee cryin'?"

"That's what I"ve come to talk to her about." Thorin said. "Now, while I talk to her, I want you two to play nicely and quietly in your room - can you do that?"

Both dwarflings nodded fiercely. They adored their mother and their uncle, and would rather have faced a pack of orcs than disappoint them.

Fili led Kili to their room, and got out their box of wooden figures. Soon, a happy quiet game of dwarves and dragons was afoot.

Meanwhile...

"Thorin, are you sure?" Dis asked, her tears temporarily ceasing as she looked at her brother in surprise.

"Dis, come on - you don't have to do this yourself. Kili alone has enough energy for ten dwarflings, and you don't have any other means of income."

Dis was quiet a minute, wide-eyed.

"Oh... I hadn't even thought of that!" she looked at her brother, horrified. She began to weep again.

"Thorin, I feel like I've gone completely mad - I can't remember even the most simple things... I couldn't remember how to make oatmeal for the boys this morning, even though i've done it every day since Fili was a baby; I couldn't remember whose shirt was Fili's and whose was Kili's, I couldn't even remember where I kept the clothespins. And until you just said that, I hadn't even remembered that I have no way to support myself or the boys -" she dissolved into quiet sobs again.

Thorin put his arms around his sister.

"Grief does strange things to people, Dis, which is why I proposed what I did - I would stay with you and the boys, give help where I can; I'd continue my work at the forge, and my income can provide for you and my nephews."

"Thorin, it's too much, I can't ask you to just uproot-"

"Uproot what?" he asked gently. "Dis, it's no trouble - I have no family, no wife to consider. I can be packed and settled over here in an afternoon."

Dis put her arms around her brother's shoulders, and the two stood for a long time in an embrace. Dis was suddenly exhausted.

"I miss him, Thorin," she whispered, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. "I miss him so much. I know I cannot bring him back, but... my heart... I don't know what I'm going to do."

Thorin gave her a tight squeeze.

"I know, Dis - I miss him too. But you have friends who care about you, and two beautiful boys who need you, Dis. You're not alone - you have me, and Balin, and Dwalin, and Bofur and his kin. Ask anyone at Erid Luin - they'd give their life's blood for you and the boys; drop whatever they were doing to come help. You don't have to do this by yourself."

Dis squeezed her brother tight.

"Thank you, Thorin," she whispered through her sobs. "Thank you."

Thorin rubbed her back and cracked a smile. "Ahh, but what kind of older brother would I be if I didn't?"

Dis sat down on the couch and drew Kili onto her lap. Fili sat next to her, both boys looking at her expectantly - something was afoot.

"Boys, listen. Uncle Thorin is going to come and live with us."

"Really?!" crowed Kili, looking exuberantly up at his mother. "Yay!" he bounced up and down and clapped his tiny hands - Thorin would be coming to stay! They'd have swordfights and foodfights and tell stories - what larks!

Fili smiled as big as his brother, but their expressions grew serious as their mother continued.

"Boys, I need you to listen, please: it will be nice having him here, yes, but it won't be for fun - he'll help me look after you two, and will work at the forge so that we can afford to stay here. When I'm not here, he'll be in charge, so I want you to listen and obey him just as you would do with me, and just as you used to do with da. Understand?"

Both boys nodded.

"Good. When he comes, we'll have to be extra helpful and let him get settled in. Can you help me do that?"

Her boys cheerfully agreed, and Dis fought tears as she kissed their heads. They had so much of Ronan in them - Fili in his looks, Kili in his enthusiastic temperment. Dis knew she had to keep going, for their sakes. She would not overcome her husband's death in a day, she knew that. But Thorin an dher boys needed her, and, stubborn dwarrowdam that Dis was, she'd be damned if she let them down.


	7. Chapter 7

"Fee?"

Kili poked his head over the edge of the bed, big brown eyes peering up at his brother.

Fili was laying curled up on his side. His eyes were puffy and his nose was red. He sniffled and coughed.

"Hey, Kee," he croaked.

"Whatsa matter?"

"I'b sick," he said. His nose was terribly stuffed up. "I god a code."

Kili looked worried.

"A Code?"

"Can'd breade," Fili said, sounding slightly out of breath. "Droat's scratchy and I got a stuffy dose."

"I'll make you better, Fili!"

Kili scampered off. Fili didn't even have the energy to wonder what he meant.

He snuggled down further under the covers, feeling rather miserable.

Then...

Kili took hold of one of the kitchen chairs and pushed it to the shelf. He stood on tiptoes, feeling about - there! A mug. He clambered down, putting the mug on the table. He scampered back to the chair and moved it over a few feet, then climbed back on. He felt around again... aha! He clutched the tea tin in both hands and jumped down from the chair. Picking up the mug, he went to the well and got a cup of water, then set the mug down near the fire.  
Mama always made tea when the boys were sick. Tea would make Fili better.

He clambered back onto the chair, pushing himself up to a standing position with both hands. He stood on strong, stocky legs, going up on his very tippy toes. He reached... reached again... the chair slid! Kili caught himself with his hands; his feet were on the chair, but his hands were supporting himself on the wall. He wasn't injured, but he was very, very stuck.

"KILI!"

Dis had walked in and saw him nearly fall.

Kili turned his head in shock.

"Oh... hi mama."

"What on earth are you doing?"

"I... well,... I was gonna make tea," Kili stammered. Dis helped him down from the chair.

"Kili, why were you trying to make tea?"

"Cause Fili's sick, and you always make us tea when we're sick."

" That's very nice of you, but you very nearly fell. You could have been badly hurt, Kili! You scared me to death!"

Kili blushed and looked down at the floor.

"Sorry, mama."

"Next time, come and find me or Thorin, and we'll help you. Have you got a mug?"

At that moment, the mug sitting in the fire burst. It had become too hot, and the clay had cracked. Both Dis and Kili jumped, yelping in surprise.

Surveying the damage, Dis sighed. It was a mess, to be sure, but she'd dealt with worse.

"Kili, what made you think to heat the water that way?"

"I dunno. Fire is hot. I thought it would make the water hot."

Dis patiently explained the proper way to heat water - in a pan on the stove.

"Now, we wait until we see steam. But if there's bubbles on the bottom of the pan, then that means it's too hot."

Kili nodded.

"Now, I see you've got the tea down. We'll give him a little bit of honey, too."

"Oooh can I put the honey in?" Kili begged.

Dis nodded.

When the water was hot, Dis allowed Kili to put in a spoonful of amber honey. Kili watched, wide eyed, as the honey dripped off the spoon in a thick stream.

"Yum," he sighed wistfully.

Dis laughed and ruffled his hair. "You like honey, don't you baby boy?"

"Mmmhmmm!"

Dis let Kili lick the spoon while the tea steeped for a few minutes. Then she and Kili trooped into Fili's room. He was sitting up in bed, looking bored stiff.

"Fee - we brought you tea with honey!"

Fili took a sip and sighed. It was comforting on his dry throat.

Dis sat on the edge of the bed.

"How're you feeling?"

Fili coughed again.

"Bored," he said.

"I'll read to you!" Kili crowed, carrying a large book of fairy tales in both arms.

"Er, Kili... you've never learned your letters..."

His brother paid him no heed, tossing the book on the bed near Fili's feet and climbed up.

Fili yelped, but then choked out a laugh.

"Kee, you're sittin' on by feet!" he croaked.

Kili fixed his brother with his most charming smile.

"That's so you can't run away!"

Fili groaned good naturedly. "Is the story really going to be that bad?"  
He looked at Dis, hoping she would rescue him.

"Please don't let it be boring -"

"Hush, little dwarfling," Kili singsonged, perfectly mimicking Dis during the boys' own bedtime routine. "I'll tell you a story."

Dis bit back a snort of laughter. Kili's wit was something to be proud of.

Tears filled her eyes; Ronan would be so proud of him - of both their boys. She blinked them back.

Kili opened the book - which he was holding upside down- and, ignoring the pages completely, began to spin an absolutely ridiculous tale of a chicken hunting the dwarf that had been responsible for pulling out his tail feathers. He turned pages every so often, did different voices for each character, delivering every point absolutely deadpan, no matter how hilarious it might be.

Both Fili and Dis were in stitches, and the trio didn't even notice that Thorin had come home until they heard him snort. They turned, and saw their normally stoic uncle leaning against the door jamb, shoulders shaking with laughter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hello everybody! There have been SO MANY views on this little collection of one-shots. Holy cow! You guys really know how to make a girl's day!**

**Please don't forget to post a quick review – writers really do live and die by these. What do you like about the stories? Not like? Any suggestions for future chapters? (I could always do with new ideas!) Hope you're having a great day!**

Thorin sat down heavily at the kitchen table and sighed. He was bone-tired. It was long after dark, and Dis and the boys had already eaten their dinner.

A long day at the forge, combined with the remnants of a head cold left him feeling drained and exhausted.

He'd had to exercise an extra measure of patience today - a wealthy customer with a maddening sense of entitlement had been very high-handed with him, demanding that Thorin immediately re-shoe five of his horses because of what the man called "infidelity of line." whatever that was supposed to mean.

Thorin knew privately why the man was making life difficult for him: Dwalin had expressly refused to make the man any sort of weapon, knowing full well that the man was partial to strong drink, and that his wife and children always seemed to develop nasty injuries after the man spent an evening at the tavern. Dwalin had shown his surprisingly fierce protectiveness.

"I won't do it," he'd told Thorin flatly. "I won't put a sword in that man's hand, not while I know he's bairns at home."

Thorin agreed completely with Dwalin. Unlike the race of men, dwarf women were free to sue for divorce if their husbands proved violent or unreliable, and a husband found guilty of abuse often found himself facing very harsh penalties.

Men, on the other hand, were far different. Women meant next to nothing, had no rights. Women who had married violent men were simply out of luck.

Dis walked into the kitchen and smiled at him. Seeing his wan face, she asked, "Long day?"

"Long and hard," said Thorin flatly. "Fenrir is still angry that Dwalin won't make him a sword."

Dis sighed. She knew the whole story; had seen Fenrir's wife and every last one of his children sporting a black eye on at least one occasion. His wife always had a plausible explanation for each injury her children accrued; but Dis knew the signs of drink and abuse.

"The last thing that family needs is for him to get ahold of a weapon," she said quietly.

"I know," said Thorin, "but what if he just goes somewhere else?"

"I don't think he would," said Dis quietly. "He knows you and Dwalin do the best work and he feels entitled to have the best. That's why he's been making things hard on you – for the first time, his money isn't getting him what he wants."

She rose to start dinner. "Are you hungry?"

Thorin didn't answer.

"It isn't fair," he said quietly, staring out the window at the snowy ground outside. "None of it," he growled.

Dis looked at him.

"Thorin?"

"It's not fair," he said louder. "Why should Dwalin and I be punished because that wretched man can't learn to control himself? We shouldn't even have to be working a forge just to survive on whatever people can pay us – we should be at a royal court. Father should be sitting on a throne -" his voice faltered and he swallowed hard.

He looked at his sister and felt his anger growing.

"And you- you're a princess of Erabor!" he said, regaining his voice. "You should be going out riding with Ronan and socializing at court, as you use to do, and here you are, stirring porridge and mending shirts like some peasant's widow -"

"Thorin, STOP." Dis said firmly.

He fell silent at the look in her eye – there was a steeliness there that he'd never seen before. She'd been formidable at Erabor, to be sure; here in Ered Luin she was like a mountain itself – unshakable, with a reserve of strength that Dis herself hadn't even realized she possessed. Stripped of the trappings of royalty, she'd had to learn basic household tasks very quickly, and had done so without complaint.

"I wish things had fallen out differently too, Thorin, of course I do," Dis said, her voice steady and quiet. "I wish Fenrir were a better husband to his wife. I wish that Smaug had never come. I wish, every moment of every day, that Ronan had not died. But wishing cannot erase these things. And as for stirring porridge, you will never hear me complain of it, Thorin, never. If taking care of you and the boys requires me to stir porridge and mend shirts, then I will cheerfully stir porridge, and I will mend shirts, and I will smile while doing so. Because that is the way things are."

She smiled wryly.

"And remind my brother that I hated socializing at court - if only to tease him when his mood becomes too black."

Thorin smiled ruefully.

" I know you work hard, Dis." he said quietly, hugging her. "I wish I could make things easier, is all."

"You do," she said, hugging him back. "Truly, brother. You do."

"Mama?"

Fili and Kili appeared in the doorway, blinking sleepily. Kili still clutched his teddy bear and blanket, rubbing his eyes.

"We heard Thorin yelling." said Fili sheepishly.

"Unca Fowin?" Kili said, "Why you mad?"

Thorin scooped Kili up in his arms.

"I promise I'm not mad, Kili. Just tired. There's a man at the forge who hasn't been very nice lately, is all. I shouldn't have shouted."

Fili watched his mother.

"Mama," he said, "were you really a princess?"

Thorin and Dis looked at each other.

"Yes, honey. I was."

"Was Thorin a prince?"

"I still am," Thorin said. "So you'd better behave yourselves," he joked.

Fili thought a minute.

"Mama," he said slowly, "Does that mean that Kili and I...?"

"Yes, Fili. You and Kili are royal. You are both princes of Erabor."

She nearly laughed at the look on her boys' faces - their eyes were large as hen's eggs.

"I'm a prince," said Fili quietly, looking completely amazed at the thought. But Kili had other things on his mind.

"What's Er-bor?" he asked.

Dis smiled at Thorin.

"You want to do the honors?" she asked.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Hello readers! Hope everybody's doing well. **

**You guys have been so fantastic in your reviews! Every time I read one I end up walking around, smiling like a complete dork. :)**

**I have a huge favor to ask of you. Yeah, you! I'm running out of ideas for this fic, and I would LOVE it if you guys could give me some help. Send me a PM, suggest something in a review, I don't care – I'll see it!**

**Currently I'm working on a fanfic of The Hobbit that I'll start posting soon, but I don't want to abandon this little venture just yet. Baby Durins are far too cute for that! **

**So please, let me know what you think! Please, PLEASE review (authors live and die by reviews – not literally, of course) and suggest a plotline! **

Fili came into the sitting room and climbed up onto the couch next to his mother. She smiled at him when he looked up at her, but he said nothing. Dis went back to her mending.

Fili sat quietly for a few minutes, staring into space.

Dis watched him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be working something out in his head.

"Mama?"

"hmm?'

"I read something in my book today."

"Yes, I know you like to read. Was it interesting?"

She paused. Clearly, there was something else coming...

"mama?"

"hmm?"

"What's chiv -" he tried again, "chivalry?"

Dis eyed her son curiously.

"What makes you ask that?"

"It was in the book I was reading'."

"What's the book about?"

"A prince that goes on a quest. He has to rescue a prinecss, and it talks about Chivalry."

"Well, a long time ago, chivalry was a strict set of rules for how to be kind to people who are less fortunate than you. Sometimes it could mean how to be nice to a lady so that she likes you; sometimes it's rules for how to care for the poor and elderly. It's not a bad code to live by."

Fili sat quietly for a few minutes, staring into the distance. His mind was working again.

"Is that how you make dwarf lasses like you? Chivalry?"

"Well, you probably don't need to be quite as extreme as that set of rules, but it's a good idea to be nice to everyone, especially if you're trying to get a girl to like you."

"Whad you talkid' bout?"

Kili poked his head into the room. He had caught Fili's cold, and despite his nose being very stuffy, was as sharp as ever.

"Girls." Fili smirked.

Kili wrinkled his nose.

"Huh?"

"We gotta be nice to them."

"Why?"

"Cos we want them to like us."

"Why? Girls are yucky. Dey gots cooties."

"Mama's a girl, and she don't have cooties!"

"Baba's different. She's growd up and dice. Girls are..." he wrinkled his nose again. Girls were strange. The ones he knew only wanted to play dolls and read books instead of climb trees and running races and swimming in the lake. Why would anyone turn down swimming in the lake?

"Why you wadda know dat stuff, anyway?"

Fili's face turned pink.

"I didn't know what the word meant."

Kili supposed there was more to his brother's question than a mere wish to expand his vocabulary. He knew Fili had been seen talking to a certain blond haired dwarrowdam who was near his age. Hadn't they played together during the fireworks? He smirked.

"It's cos you like Mali, isn't it?"

"KILI!"

"Whad? I'b just sayid'."

"Kili, be nice." Dis warned.

"Well, look who's talking! Wasn't there that time with that one lass - what was her name? Joli?" Fili smirked at his brother again.

"Duh uh! Dat was just bein' nice! I was already in trouble that day!"

"Nah... I think you were tryin' ta woo her!" Fili goaded his brother. He'd heard of wooing, but didn't really know what it meant. But it got a rise out of his brother, which was all he wanted right then.

Kili growled and launched himself at Fili. The two tumbled to the floor in a playful wrestling match.

"Oi, that's enough, you two!" Dis interjected, after they'd nearly upset her sewing basket.

The brothers scrambled up and away from each other, Kili shooting his brother a dirty look. He walked back to the bedroom to play with his wooden dwarf figures again, grumbling under his breath about older brothers.

Fili stayed with Dis, sitting on the couch. He was still feeling a bit under the weather from his cold, but Dis was happy to note that he sounded much better.

She watched him now out of the corner of her eye. He was just sitting, staring into space, just as he'd done a few minutes earlier. Both of her sons were kind, big-hearted, loyal boys; but where Kili was all energy and action, Fili was proving to have a more sensitive streak. Kili was movement and talk, talk, talk; Fili was the thinker.

"Mama?"

"hmm?"

"Did dad do chivalry with you?"

Dis scooted closer to him and gathered her son into her arms. He lay his head in her lap, feeling suddenly very tired and in need of a maternal cuddle or two.

"Yes, Fili, he did," she said quietly.

"Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"What is wooing, really?"

"It's another word for courting."

"What's courting?"

"Well, it's when two dwarves spend time together to get to know each other before they get married."

"Did dad court you?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, he did."

"What did he do?"

Dis fought tears, but her voice remained steady. She ran her hand through her son's blond hair.

"He took me to concerts and to plays. We went on picnics and watched the stars."

"Did you play games?"

"Sometimes. Mostly we just talked."

"About what?"

"All sorts of things."

A pause. Fili lay, turning things over in his mind. Kili toddled back into the room and came up to Dis. He put his hands on her knees and looked up at his mother seriously.

"Mama?"

"hmm?"

"I don'd wand us to grow up," he said seriously.

"Why's that?"

Dis looked at Kili. His brow was furrowed.

"Why's that, Kee?"

"Souds boring. I wand us to stay kids, so we can hunt bugs and run races and play with Uncle Dorin."

He sneezed again and Dis gave him a squeeze.

"Growing up isn't so bad. You can do lots of things when you're grown that you can't do when you're a dwarfling."

"I won't court. I'll be a- a bacher."

"A bachelor?"

"Yeah." he gave an enormous sniff and rubbed his nose.

"Well, you never know. We'll have to just wait and see." Dis said lightly.

"Will Fili?"

"Will Fili what, love?"

"Court subbody"

Dis looked at her eldest son, who had fast asleep. Dis was amazed at his ability to sleep through anything – Kili hadn't exactly kept his voice down. Dis almost pitied him – as the elder heir, he would be expected to marry a dwarrowdam from a good family with the proper connections. Not that Dis would have cared a fig for any of those things – so long as the woman Fili loved adored him in return, her son could have married a peasant girl, as far as Dis was concerned.

"Perhaps. Maybe he'll end up with Mali after all!" she winked at Kili. "But whatever happens, no matter who he ends up with, you mustn't make fun of him. Love is a funny thing, and sometimes it can't be helped who we fall in love with. I think it would upset him very much if we teased him about it."

"But he said me and Joli -"

"I know it wasn't true, Kili. And he should not have said it; but you know how frustrated you were with him for teasing you. He's not old enough to be courting now, but when he does, you are not to make fun of him for his choice."

Kili thought a moment.

"If he HAS to, then it should be Mali," he said quietly. "She's not so bad."

Years later...

" All you have to do is talk to her, you idiot!"

"And say what?"

"The normal things you'd say to anyone! 'Hello, how are you, fine weather we're having...'"

Fili looked shocked.

"I can't talk to Mali about the weather!"

"Fine. Suit yourself," said Kili crossly. He rolled his eyes. Honestly, his brother was one of the fiercest fighters Ered Luin had ever known. He could singlehandedly take down a pack of orcs without batting an eye, and here he was, dithering about talking to a girl he'd known practically all his life.

"After we retake Erabor, you are going to march straight up to Mali and ask to court her, or so help me, I'll do it for you!" Kili exclaimed.

"Yes, I so appreciate romantic advice from my brother who's sworn to be a life-long bachelor, yet hasn't ever struggled to talk to a woman in his life -"Fili growled.

"Because they're people, Fili. Not mystical beings. They won't bite your head off if you talk to them."

"Yeah, yeah..."

They came up the hill to a house with a green door.

"Is this it?"

"I dunno. All the paper said was 'Bag End'."

"Look! There's the mark."

They rang the doorbell and a small, curly-haired man answered. He whimpered a bit.

"Fili,"

"And Kili,"

"At your service!" they chorused, bowing low.

Kili straightened.

"You must be Mr. Boggins," he said, grinning.

Fili rolled his eyes.

"Nope! You can't come in - you've come to the wrong house."

"What!? Has it been cancelled?" Kili asked, horrified at the idea.

'Nobody told us," said Fili suspiciously, looking back and forth between his brother and the halfling.

"What? No, nothing's been cancelled -"

"That's a relief!"

Kili pushed in and stopped short. There, standing in the hallway, wide eyed, was a girl. A very short girl who was watching the commotion of the other dwarfs with the most striking pair of blue eyes Kili had ever seen.

He couldn't help staring. She looked too different from Mr. Baggins to be related to him, and her warm brown hair didn't have the tight curls that the other hobbits did. She was probably not one one would have called a raving beauty, but she was charming nonetheless. And the eyes... everything she felt was projected through her eyes. He found he'd been rendered completely incapable of speech.

Fili came up behind him and muttered cheekily,

"All you have to do is talk to her, you idiot."

Kili kept staring, his mouth slightly open. He looked utterly dumbstruck.

"Things like 'hello, how are you, lovely weather we're having..." Fili said, just out of the girl's earshot. If he'd been able to move, Kili would have punched him. But he couldn't, and didn't. His stomach felt full of butterflies. They'd been promised supper, but Kili doubted he'd be able to eat anything at all.


	10. Chapter 10

Fili and Kili scampered down the stairs, tugging on clean tunics.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Kili cried, racing after his brother.

Dis came to her sons and knelt, helping them adjust their clothes and hair. They'd spent the morning outside and had become terribly muddy, and needed a quick scrub before their guests arrived that afternoon.

"Now, when Mali and Joli come, you must be on your best behavior," she said.

"They aren't used to playing with boys as rambunctious as you are," she winked. Today was a special day for her boys - two young dwarrowdams, Mali and Joli, were coming to spend an afternoon with Dis and the boys while their parents traveled. Their mother was in need of medical attention after the recent loss of a baby, and the girls were still too young to make such a long, emotional trip.

Dis helped Kili streighten his tunic.

"Joli is still small, so we need to be gentle. Gentle, Kili, do you hear?"

"Yes mama."

There was a knock at the door.

"They're here!" cried Fili. He and Mali were school friends, still young enough that their difference in gender was largely unnoticed or cared about.

He ran to the door and opened it.

"Hi Mali!" he beamed.

A little dwarrowdam with pale blonde hair and green eyes beamed back.

"Hi Fili!" she said excitedly. "We came to play!"

"I know!" said Fili, just as excited as his little guest.

A small child was placed on the floor next to Mali- a fair-haired replica of her older sister, Joli was just at the age of walking. She fixed her large brown eyes on Kili and stuck her fist in her mouth, babbling happily.

While Mali and Joli's parents chatted with Dis, the children moved into the living room to play.

Mali and Fili dug out clay figurines and settled on the rug, already engrossed in formulating epic tales of brave feats and daring rescues.

Joli gripped the fabric of her father's pant leg, suddenly very shy.

Kili, feeling that this was quite silly, made a face.

Joli's eyes grew wide, and she stared at Kili for a second. Then, her little face scrunched up and she began to bawl. She clung desperately to her parents.

"No go!" she wailed. "Mama!"

"I'm sorry, love," said Joul, her father, "But we need to. Can you be good for Lady Dis?"

Dis held her arms out to the crying dwarrowdam.

"It's alright, dear. Momma and Daddy will come back."

By some miracle, Joli allowed Dis to take her into her arms, snuggling into the woman's shoulder.

A quick kiss from both her parents, a brief thanks to Dis, and the two other adults were gone.

Joli was still beside herself, and Dis rubbed her back. She'd cared for Joli before, and knew that the little girl wasn't prone to separation anxiety.

"Hey, now, what's all this?" she asked soothingly. "What's brought this on, sweetheart?"

Kili, who had watched all of this unfold in growing trepidation, decided there was nothing for it. He would have to confess.

"She's cryin' cos I makeded a face."

Dis was confused.

"Why'd you do that, Kee?"

"Cos you're suppose ta make babies laugh," he said.

Dis began to put two and two together

"And you thought making faces would make her laugh?"

"Yeah."

"But it upset her instead?"

Kili nodded, looking miserable. For all his mischeif, he wasn't a bad sort of child at heart, not really.

"Hmm. I see."

She thought a moment.

"Can we think of some other things that Joli might laugh at?"

Kili frowned, thinking hard. Then, his face lighting up, he turned on his heel and scampered off to his room.

Dis held the still-snuffling Joli to her shoulder, rocking gently and singing to her. She wondered what it would have been like to have a daughter, to sing into sweet-smelling hair every evening. She would never dream of trading her boys for anything, but she couldn't help wondering what might have been if Ronan had not died... perhaps they'd have had more children... a whole house of spirited dwarflings... she felt the familiar prickle of tears and brushed at her face.

Kili came running into the kitchen (he never walked anywhere when running would do just as well), holding a grey, floppy stuffed rabbit aloft.

He slid to a stop and put the bunny into Joli's lap.

"This is mine, but you can use it," he said.

Dis looked at her son's earnest little face, and her heart melted. Kili was protective of this stuffed animal - he slept with this bunny every night, without fail. Here he was, offering it as comfort to someone else.

Joli studied the bunny for a minute, then reached out a tiny hand and touched the pink nose, the little button eyes... then, she wrapped her arms around the bunny and clutched it to her. She babbled happily, fixing Kili with a smile that made his tiny boyish heart melt. Babies weren't so bad, he they were older and could do things.

"That was very nice of you, Kili," Dis said, stroking his hair. "What made you think of your bunny?"

"She was sad," was all Kili said.

"Does Bunny make you feel better when you're sad?" asked Dis.

"yeah," said Kili plaintively.

Joli slid out of Dis' lap, toddling unsteadily towards Kili. He smiled a bit crookedly at her.

She took a few last tentative steps, and wrapped her arms around Kili's middle, her chubby arms barely reaching his back.

Dis' heart melted all over again.

Kili looked up at his mother in surprise, hardly able to say anything.

Mali and Fili trooped into the kitchen, looking for a snack. They stopped short when they saw their siblings.

"Why's Joli huggin' Kee?" Fili asked.

"Mama says Joli's very affectionate," said Mali. She had no idea what 'affectionate' actually meant, but she knew it was a long word that sounded very grand indeed.

"What's that mean?" asked Kili, keeping an eye on his bunny as Joli toddled around the kitchen, dragging the grey bunny behind her, for he was still rather attached.

"It means you enjoy showing people you care about them," said Dis.

"Like hugs and stuff?" asked Fili.

Dis smiled.

"Yes, Fili."

Suddenly Kili grinned mischievously. He ran across the room, tackling his brother to the ground. the two of them wrestled for a minute, then Kili planted a great smacking kiss on Fili's forehead.

"EEEW! Kili, stop it!" Fili howled.

"What? I'm bein' 'fectionate!"

The dwarflings ate their snack of apples and cheese, chattering happily among themselves. Little Joli took particular delight in Kili's bunny, clutching the little thing to her round little tummy. Wherever Kili went, the tiny dwarfling trailed after him. While he, Fili, and Mali sat on the floor playing with clay figures, Joli sat next to him, watching them play and looking up at him with wide eyes every so often.

Dis watched these proceedings with a small smile. Apparently, Kili had earned himself an admirer.

Dinner passed uneventfully, and Dis and the children enjoyed Joli's dinnertime antics. Thorin came home from the forge to find Dis, the boys, and Mali in gales of laughter, while Joli blinked her large brown eyes at them, her little face covered in smears of potatoes and carrot.

"What's all this?" he asked Dis, his tone light. "Did you adopt two strays while I was out?"

He winked at Mali, who stared back at him, wide eyed. He smiled at her and nodded his head.

"Evening, miss...?"

But Mali just stared at him.

"he's askin' your name," Fili hissed.

"Um... M-Mali, Mr. Thorin," she said, a bit intimidated at being in the presence of the rightful King Under the Mountain.

Joli, not the least bit concerned with status, turned in her high chair and craned her little neck to look at Thorin. He smiled and brushed his hand over the light curls.

"Who's this little one?" he asked Mali gently.

"That's my little sister, Joli."

The table erupted in laughter again when the dwarfling held out a boiled carrot in a chubby hand, squishing the vegetable between her fingers.

"Bite?" she asked, large brown eyes melting the owner of the ice blue ones.

Thorin fought to keep his face steady at this gesture of infantile goodwill.

"Oh, no, that's your dinner," he rumbled.

Joli brought the carrot back to her mouth and chewed happily.

After dinner there was more playtime until the girl's parents came to pick them up.

Dis had feared tears and a tantrum when Joli was forced to part with the stuffed animal, but the little girl merely smiled shyly at Kili and toddled toward him, Bunny in her outstretched arms, large brown eyes searching his face.

He smiled crookedly and turned a bit pink.

"Thanks," he said, gently taking the grey rabbit back.

Joli's father scooped her up in his arms, and she lay her head on his shoulder. Just before the door closed, Dis thought she saw a tiny hand waving goodbye to her youngest.

As the two boys settled down into bed, Kili with his bunny, Dis smiled and blew out the candle. She hadn't even left the room when Fili turned, threw himself over his brother, and planted a sloppy kiss on his brother's forehead.

"Goodnight, brother!" he said cheekily.

"EEUGH! Fili, that's gross!" Kili howled in outrage, scrubbing at his forehead.

"Fili." Dis warned, trying to keep her voice steady from laughing.

"What? I'm just bein' affectionate!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow! You guys have been so great with your reviews and your messages! Keep it up – I love hearing what you guys think of the stories! **

Fili sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. Light was pouring in through the window, but it wasn't sunshine. On his knees, he looked out the window just above the bed and smiled.

A thick blanket of snow covered the ground, the trees, the bushes, everything! And it was still coming down, huge flakes falling thick and fast. There would be no school today.

"Kee," he hissed, nudging his brother, who grunted and swatted at his hand, rolling over and taking half the blankets with him.

"Kee! Wake up!"

"Huh?"

"It's snowing!"

Kili sat up and rubbed his sleep-flushed face with his tiny fists, sporting what some very impressive bedhead.

Kili looked out the window and his eyes grew wide.

"Fili!" he said.

"I know!" said his brother excitedly.

"What is it?!" Kili cried, pressing his face against the glass.

Fili laughed.

"It's snow, silly!"

Dis came into the room.

"Good morning! Did you two look outside?" she asked, relishing their childish joy at a snow day.

Both boys greeted her with a cuddle.

"Can we play in the snow?" Fili begged, his face full of boyish hopefulness.

"You may, but breakfast first," said Dis.

Both boys scrambled out of bed and to the kitchen, where Dis portioned out oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar, a special treat. Thorin, who was forced to stay home from the forge due to the weather, joined them and chatted with his nephews over his own bowl of oatmeal.

While Thorin took over dish duty, Dis helped her sons into layers of clothing: thick socks, fur-lined boots, sweaters, coats, mittens, scarves, hoods.

As soon as the door was open, Fili whooped and jumped out into the snow, gamboling about like a foal in a field.

Kili, not to be outdone by his brother, took a running leap and landed -flump!- into a snowbank so deep that he disappeared, leaving a Kili-shaped hole.

Fili laughed as Kili's head popped up out of the snow.

"Snow is fun!"

He scrambled out of the snowbank and ran at his brother, tackling him. They wrestled affectionately, and soon both were out of breath.

"Let's make a snowdwarf!" Fili said.

"ok!"

Fili showed his brother how to make large balls of snow, rolling it along the ground until they had a ball that was even taller than Fili.

Fili shaped the body while Kili ran to the house and asked for a carrot and two pieces of coal for the eyes and nose. Having procured these, he ran back to his brother.

"Who should we make it look like?" Fili asked.

"Ummm... Thorin!"

Meanwhile…

Dis stood at the wash basin and looked out the window at her two sons playing in the snow.

It had been nearly two years since Ronan had died, and on days like this, when her boys got to share in new experiences, she missed him more than ever.

"Dis?"

She turned and looked at her brother.

"What is it?" he asked.

She paused.

"I was just remembering, is all."

Thorin stood and came to her.

"Ronan?"

She nodded and bowed her head, hoping her brother wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

Thorin took the wet rag out of her hand and let it drop into the sudsy water. He gathered his sister into his arms and held her protectively.

"I miss him," she said quietly, her face buried into his shoulder.

"I know," was all Thorin could say.

"What if I lose the boys too?" Dis whispered.

Thorin held her tightly.

"You won't. I swear it, Dis. I will keep you and the boys safe."

Dis nodded and wiped her eyes.

"You've been such a help to me, Thorin. Truly. I don't know how I could ever repay-"

"Dis, stop that. You know you need never feel that you have to repay me. I'd have done it again in a heartbeat."

Dis nodded and pulled away, wiping her eyes.

Thorin smiled at her.

"Shall we surprise the boys with a snowball fight?"

Dis grinned.

Then…

"No, Kili, not like that! Snow Thorin doesn't look grumpy enough!" cried Fili. Their snowman (well, snow column, really) now had eyes and a carrot nose.

Kili yelped when, out of nowhere, a snowball hit him in the shoulder. Both boys went still, listening and looking for the perpetrator. Another snowball came sailing at Fili's head. He ducked, and the snowball hit the ground behind him.

"BARUK KHAZAAAAAAD!"

Thorin and Dis came roaring from behind the corner of the house, chucking armloads of snowballs at the boys. Shouting with delight, they ducked behind their snow column and began hurling snowballs right back. Fili began scrambling at the snow, making as many snowballs as he could. Kili was giggling so hard he could barely move, and was only pucking up handfuls of snow and chucking them in the general direaction of his mother and Uncle. Suddenly the snowballs stopped and it was deathly quiet. Fili and Kili looked at each other, waiting.

Then, they heard a low growl. Both boys cautiously peered behind their snow column to see their mother and Thorin bearing down on them. Dis attacked Fili and began tickling him mercilessly; Thorin had seized Kili by the ankles and was holding him upside down.

"Nononono, mama – that tickles!" Fili cried, his little blue eyes tearing up from laughter.

"Ah, this is what happens when naughty little boys throw snowballs at their mothers!" Dis crowed triumphantly, her cheeks and nose pink from the cold.

"HAHA! No, Stop! That tickles! I'll be good! I"ll be good!" he swawked, trying to scramble away from his mother.

"WHEEEE!" Kili spread out his arms and Thorin whirled him round and round, the tips of his mittens skimming the ground. Thorin slowed down and gently deposited his nephew on the ground.

"More, Unca Towin! Dats' fun!"

Thorin crossed his arms and studied their snowman.

"Who's this fellow supposed to be?" he asked.

"You, Uncle!" said Fili.

Dis and Thorin stood looking at the snowman, and both cocked their heads to one side in sync, hoping to see where the resemblance lay.

"Really?" said Dis. "That's…er… very nice, boys."

"Fili says he doesn't look grumpy enough!" offered Kili.

Thorin growled in his throat and hoisted his newphew up on his hip.

"Not grumpy enough?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "Not grumpy enough! I'll show you grumpy! DU BEKA! BARU KHAZAD!" He picked up a snowball, and the merry war began again.

**So there's the chapter – hope you've enjoyed it!**

**And now, I REALLY need some feedback from you guys – would you be interested in reading a companion piece to this story featuring an adult Mali and Joli from the "Affectionate" chapter? I've got some ideas for a story (Post BOFA AU where everybody lives). Mali and Joli will features as love interests for Fili and Kili. It would probably be super fluffy and lots of humor, while also dealing with some of the aftermath of BOFA. Thoughts? **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everybody! Don't forget to leave a review! **

Fili tugged at his tunic, trying to get comfortable. He'd been scrubbed pink, and dressed in his nicest clothes. His mother insisted, and he must wear them, even if they were horribly stiff and itchy. Fili had suffered in silence, knowing that he'd be in trouble if he argued, but Kili, who was dressed in no-less scratchy clothing, was having none of it.

"I don't like it!" he wailed, squirming in Thorin's arms. "I don't like it! I hate this shirt! It's too scratchy! Nobody else will be scratchy there!"

"Kili, stop that," growled Thorin, trying not to drop his nephew. "We all have to dress in our best for your mother's birthday."

"Where is mama?" Fili asked.

"She's coming later, she's getting ready with friends."

"Getting ready for what?" asked Fili.

"For the party."

"Why she gotta get ready?" asked Fili.

"She's dressing up too."

"Why she gots ta get ready… uh… not at our house?" Kili fumbled with the lacing on Thorin's jerkin, distracted, but still curious.

"Because her friends wanted to make her day special."

Thorin was doing his best to remain patient with his nephews, but privately, was just as uncomfortable as they were. Large crowds didn't bother him; it was the pressure to perform his role as the rightful king that chafed at him - the open stares, the judgement from all sides, and an endless litany of questions: when was he going to take back Erabor? Had he had any sign from Thrain?

And, from the less friendly parties, the always-whispered question of whether he was even fit to rule. He was a king without a kingdom.

But it would not do to dwell on these things, not today. He would smile and be happy today. It was Dis' birthday. He would ignore the stares and rude questions. He would be cheerful for her sake.

"Now, boys, when we get to the party, I need you to be on your best behavior. Your mother is turning a hundred and forty - this is a big occasion. Pretty much all of Ered Luin will be there, and your mother and I won't be able to watch you closely. If I hear you've gotten into any trouble,…"

"We won't uncle!" promised quickly. He'd been in trouble with his uncle enough times to know that he meant business.

"We'll be good!" said Kili. "Really truly extra super good!"

Thorin had to bite back a smile. It wouldn't do to let his nephews think he was getting soft on them, even if he did love them as his own life.

"Well, I'll hold you both to that."

Thorin opened the door to the great hall, and the boys stopped and stared:

A huge banquet table had been set up, laden with an enormous feast, with fancy place settings and candles to boot. Torches gleamed from the walls, and an enormous space had been cleared for dancing. A huge cake sat on a table in one corner.

Kili's eyes grew wide.

"Fili!"

"I see it!"

"Ooooh uncle can we have some cake? Please, please, pleeeease?" they begged, quite forgetting their itchy clothing.

"You may have some after the feast."

"But... but... I'm hungry." Kili looked up at his uncle in his best puppy-eyed expression.

"You wouldn't want us to starve, would you, uncle?" Fili asked innocently. Thorin frowned at him.

"No use, lads," said Dwalin, who was walking by. He was dressed in a fine kilt and dress shirt with a small ceremonial axe strapped to his waist. It was the first time either of the boys had seen him without his knuckle dusters.

"Yer mam gave all of us strict instructions not to give either of ye cake until after dinner, and it's more than me life's worth not to cross Dis."

Kili sighed, and Fili couldn't help looking back at the cake with a slightly forlorn expression.

Dwalin shot Thorin a look. Both dwarrows were fighting to keep a straight face. They'd been partial to cake as children too - Thorin remembered an evening when both of them went home from the 25th anniversary of Thror's coronation with a bellyache that lasted three days.

The crowd was enormous – everyone was dressed in their very best clothes, the men in fine tunics, and the women in elaborate dresses.

Fili spied his school friend, Mali, in a soft pink dress. Her little sister, Joli, was wearing blue. She clutched her sister's hand and watched the activity, wide-eyed.

Fili and Kili walked up to her.

"Hi Mali!" Fili said, relieved that he wouldn't have to spend the evening with boring grown ups.

"Hi Fili!" smiled back. Joli, who had mastered walking by this time, hugged Fili around the middle, as her affectionate nature dictated. She saw Kili and waved a chubby arm at him.

"Kee!" she cried happily, teetering forward and wrapping her arms around Kili's midsection.

"Er, hey, Joli." Kili patted her head awkwardly.

She was still tiny, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder. She beamed up at Kili.

"Happy Bert day!"

Mali giggled.

"Joli, it's not Kili's birthday, you goose! It's lady Dis's birthday."

"We gets cake!" Joli announced, the happy prospect causing her to ignore her sister completely.

"I know," sighed Kili, gazing wistfully at the cake table.

"Mama said we could have cake if we behaved ourselves and ate all our dinner -"

"I am! I'm bein' a have!" Joli protested, feeling that Mali's admonishment was a little unfair. She hadn't run about, or spilled anything, or mussed her dress, or talked too loud, or done any of the things her mum had said not to.

"Mama said there'd be dancing too!" Mali said.

"Wait… dancing?"

Fili looked nervous. He didn't know how to dance! And what if he had to dance with Mali? She was nice enough, but what if people thought he LIKED her? She was just a friend! Why couldn't everybody just play dwarves versus goblins instead?

Mali giggled.

"Don't worry, Fili. It's not hard – Mama and Daddy dance all the time."

Thorin approached the group of children, looking somewhat less brooding than usual. For some reason that neither of his nephews could fathom, he bowed from the waist – first to Mali, then to Joli.

"Good evening," he said formally.

Mali and Joli stared up at him, and the elder sister had the presence of mind to curtsy – or try to, at least; she was still small enough that she wobbled a bit and had to fling her arms out for balance.

"Good evening, Mr. Thorin, - um, I mean, Mr. _King _Thorin, Sir."

She faltered and stared at the floor, her little round face turning crimson. The rightful King Under the Mountain had bidden her good evening, and had _bowed_ to her!

Little Joli was so surprised that she couldn't do anything but stare.

"I hope you are both well," said Thorin, hoping to put the Mali at ease.

"Yes, sir." Poor Mali was blushing so fiercely that Thorin was afraid she'd faint.

"There's a big cake!" said Joli, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. Thorin smiled.

"That sounds delightful! I'll be sure to have the servers save you a piece," he said, winking at Joli.

"AFTER dinner, Kili." He said, fending off the question he knew Kili would ask. His youngest nephew slumped his shoulders and looked a bit glum. Joli patted his arm consolingly. Thorin had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing.

"I'm afraid I have to borrow Fili and Kili a moment ... boys, come say Happy Birthday to your mother."

Both boys turned, and saw a dark haired woman chatting with a few friends. Their jaws dropped when they realized it was Dis – her hair was out of it's customary braid and fell loose on her shoulders, with an intricate set of braids keeping it out of her face. Her gown was of a rich red color.

"Mama!"

Kili ran across the room. Dis turned and saw him, and opened her arms in time for Kili to launch himself into a hug.

"Hello, boys! Oh, you look so nice in your fine clothes."

"Mama, you look different!" said Kili.

"Pretty," Fili said, then ducked his face into this mother's shoulder, suddenly bashful. Dis gave him an affectionate squeeze and kissed the top of his head.

"Yes, she does look quite nice, doesn't she?" Thorin asked, suddenly at Dis' elbow.

He kissed her cheek and pressed his forehead to hers in the traditional dwarven gesture of affection.

"Happy birthday, sister," he said quietly.

"Thank you, Thorin," said Dis, whose cheeks had become slightly pink at the compliments. She stood back to study Thorin in his dress tunic.

"Well, don't you look handsome, you old fool!" she teased. She felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Yes, Fili?" she knelt down so that she was at eye-level with her youngest.

"Mali says we gotta dance," said Fili, shuffling his feet and avoiding eye contact with his mother, cues that he was nervous and embarrassed at being so.

"Fili, you don't have to dance if you don't want to," Dis assured him. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Well, that's good."

"Mali and Joli are here," said Dis, " did you get to say hello?"

"Yes, said Kili, pulling her other sleeve, "Joli hugged me! Why she always doin' that?"

"Remember when we learned the word "affectionate", what we said that meant?" Dis asked. Both boys nodded.

"well, I think Joli's way of saying hello is to hug people – here she is!"

Both boys parted and saw Joli scampering towards Dis. She opened her arms for the little dwarfling, who happily returned the hug.

"Happy bert day!" Joli cried.

"Why, thank you, miss Joli!" Dis beamed down at the little dwarfling, then held out her hand and squeezed Mali's.

"Hello, Mali, how are you?"

"Fine, Lady Dis, thank you," said Mali, who dropped another wobbly curtsey. Dis felt a small pang at the gesture – she was very fond of both of the girls, and did not wish to stand on ceremony. Hoping to loosen the tension, she beamed at the children and dropped her voice.

"Have you had any cake yet?" she asked conspiratorially.

"Not yet," said Mali truthfully. "Mama said we can have some if we eat all our dinner."

"Ah, your mother's a smart lady," said Dis, but was cut off when Balin held up his hands and called for quiet.

"Friends, if I could have your attention..." he called, and the room quieted.

"We're gathered here to celebrate the Birthday of Lady Dis, may Mahal bless her!" Clapping and cheering filled the room, no one cheering harder than Dis' brother and sons.

"The feasting will begin shortly, and there will be dancing and songs afterwards!"

More cheering. The entire room took their seats at the long banqueting table, with Dis and Thorin in the middle and the two boys to Thorin's left. Mali and Joli were seated on the opposite side of the table, next to their parents.

All through dinner the dwarflings kept stealing long glances at the cake in the corner. Dis looked over at Kili once while the wild boar was being served, and saw him with his elbows on the table, chin in his hands, staring at the cake and sighing like a love-struck teenager.

"Kili," she muttered, "elbows _off_ the table, please."

"Sorry, mama." Kili whispered, stealing another side-long glance at the cake. .

"Patience, young Kili," said Balin, who was seated on his other side. "You'll get your cake, by and by," the old dwarf winked at him.

After dinner there were stories and songs. The dwarflings didn't know most of them, but Mali hummed along once she'd gotten the tune, and Joli simply swung her little feet to the music.

Soon, to the utter delight of the children, the enormous cake was brought forward, a delight covered in white icing sugar and candied fruits. There were toasts, and everyone said three cheers for Lady Dis, and then the cake was cut.

Dis caught sight of Joli watching her (in her later years, Joli would always remember Dis as a very great beauty), and winked. She took a small scoop of icing on her finger, and mimed smearing it all over Thorin's cheek. There was a smattering of chuckles from those who noticed. Noticing the laughter, he turned to look at her, but Dis was merely licking the icing off of her finger, and shrugged as though she had no idea what was going on.

Thorin only quirked an eyebrow and leaned over, plunging his fork into Dis' slice of cake and scooping out a rather large bite, which he got to his mouth despite his sister's laughing protestations while the table erupted in cheers and laughter.

Mali was staring open mouthed and Joli had clapped her tiny hands over her mouth, her little round face red with suppressed giggles, while their parents laughed heartily. Fili and Kili looked at each other, completely shocked – they'd never seen their uncle joke like this.

Shrugging, they dug into their slices with gusto, as did the other children- Joli managed to get icing sugar all over her mouth, and even proper, polite little Mali abandoned decorum and attacked her piece, which was gone within minutes.

Having been properly plied with food, cake and song, the party stood, scraping their chairs, and servants quickly cleared away the tables and chairs. Soon festive music was playing.

Fili, Kili, Mali, and Joli stood off to one side and watched as Dis and Thorin opened the dancing, performing a stately, slow dance that was more of a pattern of walking than actual dancing.

soon the music picked up and the other dwarves joined in, whirling each other about in a square dance.

Since the dwarflings were too small to join in, they did dances of their own - all four skipped in a circle, playing ring-about-the-rosebush; Kili and Joli joined hands and jumped up and down in a circle while Fili and Mali looked up at the ornate ceiling, twirling on the spot with their arms outstretched until they either lost their balance or crashed into each other and fell to the floor, breathless with giggles.

Soon the girl's father, Joul, came and scooped up both of his daughters and carried them over to dance with their mother; Joul, Ane, and a girl on each arm, the very picture of a happy, innocent family.

Dis watched them, then turned to smile at Thorin.

"What's that look for?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," said Dis airily.

"Don't lie, sister. You're terrible at it," Thorin teased her, executing a complicated dance step with surprising skill.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

"That Mali might do very well for Fili," said Dis thoughtfully.

Thorin threw back his head and laughed.

"What, matchmaking already! Come on, Dis, neither of them are out of the schoolroom!"

" What? It's a simple observation! She's a sweet girl, and she and Fili get along well. I"ve always said the boys could choose whoever they wanted to marry, never mind if she's royal or not -"

"Dis..." Thorin interrupted. "You're not planning anything, are you?"

Dis held up her hands in mock defense.

"Of course not! All I'm saying is that if, perhaps, Fili one day falls in love with her, you wouldn't hear any shouting about it from me." Dis smirked. Thorin merely rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Fili and Kili had managed to sneak over to the cake table and steal a few large pieces while the cook's back was turned, and stole over to a secluded corner where they enjoyed the fruits of their clandestine mission. They watched Dis dancing with Thorin.

"Mama looks nice," said Fili absentmindedly.

"Hmhmm." Kili nodded, his mouth and chin covered with icing sugar, cheeks bulging with candied fruit. He gulped down his mouthful and looked at his brother.

"Fee?"

"Hmm?"

"Did ahmad and da dance?" he took another enormous bite of cake.

Fili shrugged.

Kili thought a minute.

"I'm glad Uncle Thorin is here," he said, swallowing a candied orange.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Cos otherwise ahmad wouldn't have anyone to dance with. And then she'd be sad. People shouldn't be sad on birthdays."

Fili could not but agree.

**Hello everybody! Thanks for reading my story! **

**Thanks also for all your feedback regarding the new fic I'm planning! I am hoping to upload the first chapter of my new story soon - ya know, the post BOFA AU with Mali and Joli. It'll be funny and fluffy, but still have enough serious bits to have some substance. I'm still working on a title for it - I'm HORRID at thinking up titles - so if you have any suggestions feel free to hit up my inbox or suggest one in a review! **


	13. Chapter 13

**How is everyone doing with all the BOTFA feels going around? Everybody surviving? If not, here's some Christmas-y Kid!Durins fluff to help! Happy Holidays to all! Please don't forget to leave a review! **

Fili and Kili crept down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. This was proving difficult, as Kili could barely contain his excited giggles.

"Be quiet, Kili! We can't wake up mama or uncle Thorin!"

"But…but.." Kili was still small enough that he had to take one step at a time, "It's YULE, Fee!"

"Shhh! I know!"

They reached the bottom of the stairs, Fili in his pajamas, and Kili in his onesie, and tiptoed down the hall to the sitting room. They pushed open the door, and Kili nearly let out a shout of delight: a tree had been set up in the corner, and under it was, to his young eyes, a mountain of packages wrapped in brown paper.

Over the fireplace two bulging red stockings had been hung, and the boys could see a red and white peppermint stick poking out from each. Pine boughs had been cut and hung over the fireplace.

"Fee! Fee!"

"I see them too!"

"Are all of those for us?!"

"I think so!"

"Lookit, Fee, there's candy!"

"And oranges!"

"And presents, too!"

"Can we open 'em, Fee? Can we? Please please please?"

"Not all of them, Kee – see, this one's marked with Thorin's name." Fili held up a package.

"And this one is mamas… this one is for Mali… and Joli too!"

"What? Why're they coming?"

"I dunno…"

"Good morning, you two."

Both boys turned, and saw their mother and uncle standing in the doorway. Dis was smiling. Both boys ran to their mother and hugged her.

"Happy Yule, Ahmad!" crowed the boys.

"Happy Yule!" Dis said, hugging them back. She smoothed her hand over Kili's mop of dark hair.

"That, young sir, is some impressive bedhead you've got there."

"Don't I get Yule hugs too?" Thorin asked, kneeling next to a now roaring fire in the heart. The next moment, he'd been knocked over by the sheer force of two excited dwarflings. The boys wrestled for a little while, Thorin finally gaining the upper hand by tickling both his nephews until their little faces were red with laughter.

"Allright, boys, that's enough – careful!" Dis cried. Kili, who was kicking his little feet in mirth, had kicked the table leg, nearly upsetting a pitcher of milk and a few bowls of food Dis was setting out.

Dis frowned, and shot her sons and brother a warning glance. Even Thorin looked a bit sheepish.

"We've got company coming soon, so let's open presents and stockings before they get here," said Dis.

Neither of the boys needed telling twice. Their stockings came down in a flash, and the contents dumped into a pile on the floor. They contained good winter oranges, (Fili remembered that Thorin had been very secretive about what he'd gotten from the market a few days ago), an assortment of sweet nuts (Kili was partial to almonds), and a peppermint sugar stick apiece. Fili's stocking also had a stuffed black bear, and Kili's had a grey stuffed rabbit with floppy ears.

After exclaiming over their stocking goodies, the boys tore into their presents. Each of the boys received a new pair of sturdy boots (they'd quite outgrown their old ones), a set of trousers, and a new tunic, Fili's a deep red, and Kili's a dark blue. Another round of packages revealed a tiny wooden practice sword for Fili and another for Kili.

Thorin and Dis explained to both of the boys that these were to be used only during practices when an adult was present, and that using them for actual fighting would result in severe consequences. Both boys nodded vigorously, sensing that Thorin meant business.

"And now," Thorin announced, "I have a surprise for you, Dis."

"What? Thorin, I thought we'd agreed not to get anything for each other-"

"I know we did," said Thorin, a mischievous grin on his face, "but that's just too bad."

Dis unwrapped her parcel to reveal a gleaming wooden lute. On the body of the lute were runes inlaid with silver, spelling her name and a blessing in Khuzdul.

"Thorin… I… it's so beautiful! Where did you find this?"

"Bofur helped me make it. You know what a good woodworker he is. I thought it's been a while since you played…" Thorin broke off, clearing his throat a bit.

"Well, Happy Yule, Dis."

The last parcels were opened: a set of shining new carved dwarven figures for both of the boys to play with.

Suddenly, Fili remembered something.

"Mama, why's there presents for Mali and Joli?"

"They're coming to spend the day with us," Dis said. Thorin didn't say anything, and she continued.

"They don't have any other family to visit today, so I said they'd be more than welcome to come. Surely you don't object to seeing your friend?"

"No! No, Mali's nice." Said Fili. He couldn't wait to show her the new set of dwarves. They'd be able to play capture the dragon!

"But… what will I do?" asked Kili, a pout on his face.

"Joli's too little to play with!" he complained. It was all very well for Fili, Mali was exactly his age. Joli was still a baby. Babies were boring, Kili thought. All they did was cry and sleep. Why couldn't someone his age come and play with him?

"Don't worry, Kee," Fili said. "I won't let you be by yourself - you can play with Mali and me!"

An hour later, both boys had been scrubbed and dressed in their new clothes, and padded down the stairs in their stocking feet to the kitchen, where Dis was greeting Joul and Ane. Mali bounded inside the door and greeted Fili with a "Happy Yule" and a grin, and soon the dwarflings were sitting on the floor near the fire, playing happily with the dwarven figures. Fili and Kili were, of course, the dashing heroes, and Mali had taken up the part of the shield maiden. Her battle tactics, Thorin noted, were rather impressive.

Baby Joli had just woken up from a nap before they had come, and was still a bit groggy, but cheerful. She sat on her father's lap as Joul chatted with Thorin, watching the Christmas activity with calm, wide-eyed interest. Soon, she twisted her little body around at the sound of Thorin's voice to watch his face. She was at a stage where she had an interest in faces. Thorin, who usually looked so somber, found himself softening at the little girl's earnest gaze.

"Hello, little one," he said quietly.

Joli beamed at him and held out a little hand, mimicking a wave. Thorin took her tiny hand and held it in his larger one, noting how the palm of her hand barely fit over the pad of his thumb.

Dis and Ane set to work fixing their Yule dinner, and soon the table was groaning under their feast: a roasted chicken, ham, potatoes, green beans, pickles, deviled eggs, bread, jarred tomatoes, carrots, apples, oranges, and an enormous spice cake with - Kili could hardly contain himself – royal icing.

Soon all were sitting down to their feast, and eating heartily, laughing and joking. Dis and Ane had, Thorin surmised, snuck a glass or two of spiced wine – the two were decidedly giggly, and Dis's cheeks were pink.

Fili and Kili tucked into their meal, and Mali sat between both her parents, swinging her little feet as she ate.

Joli was especially entertaining to watch as Ane fed her a dinner of mashed potatoes, boiled carrot, and soft pears. A true dwarfling, she ate as heartily as any of them, smiling through the food smeared on her face.

Suddenly, Kili burst out laughing.

"Joli's got a carrot beard!" he giggled. The adults laughed.

"We have bubble beards too!" Mali said.

"Bubble beards?"

"yeah! When mama gives us a bath, we get bubble beards!"

Kili looked at his brother, eyes wide.

"Bubble beards, Fee!" he crowed, barely able to contain himself at the prospect.

You'll have real beards soon enough, lads," said Joul, laughing at Kili's enthusiasm. "Real, splendid beards, to be sure."

"Really? Like Uncle Thorin?" Fili asked excitedly, desperate to be like his idol.

"Yes," said Dis. "But they won't grow unless you eat your carrots."

"Aww, do we have to?"

"Yes."

"but it's Yule!" Kili protested, but Dis was unmoved.

"Carrots, or no cake."

The carrots were gone within minutes.

Finally the cake was served, and Thorin helped everyone to large servings while Dis brewed tea. Suddenly, she heard her brother give a shout of laughter.

Joul had leaned forward to kiss his youngest daughter on the top of her downy little head, and had gotten a face full of cake and icing for his efforts. Ane threw back her head and laughed, and the other children dissolved into giggles.

Joul looked at the baby before him.

"Well, thank you, little one," he said dryly. Thorin handed him a cloth.

"She really got you, Mr. Joul!" said Fili.

"Yeah," Kili added, "the icing went all over your face!"

Mali giggled.

"Da, you got icing all over your beard!"

"Yep. And it's only because we're in Lady Dis' kitchen that a food fight hasn't broken out, you young whipper-snappers!"

"What's this about a food fight?" Dis asked.

Joul looked at Thorin.

"Fancy our chances?"

"I think we can take 'em," said Thorin. Before anyone could blink, Thorin scooped up Fili and Kili under his arms as though they were sacks of potatoes, and Joul held Mali upside down, her tunic falling to reveal a round little tummy.

All three children shrieked with delight and were deposited on the hearth rug, and a merry scuffle insued –Thorin and Joul in a tickle war against Fili, Kili, and Mali. Soon, instigated by Fili and Kili, the dwarflings teamed up against Thorin, knocking him over and pinning him down.

"Before the lot of you get too distracted, we have a few surprises for Mali and JOli." Said Dis.

"Oh, Dis, you didn't have to get them anything –" protested Anne.

"I know I didn't have to, but I did anyway," said Dis merrily. "They've always been so good for me when they come over."

"Oooh Thank you Lady Dis!" Mali tore the paper off her present – a beautiful book of fairy tales with wildflowers embossed into the leather cover.

"We can read these before bed!" she looked at her mother excitedly.

"Miss Joli's turn now, I think," said Dis.

Joli studied the gift for a while, and her mother helped her tear off the paper. Kili groaned in anticipation – why did it always take so long for babies to do things?

The gift was exceptional – exquisitely carved wooden blocks depicting seasons, letters, and animals on their sides; sturdy enough to withstand even a baby's rough handling, but made with all the care and attention that was expected from Dwarven craftsmen.

"Thank you, lady Dis. These are treasures, these are," said Joul.

The family sat gazing at the presents for a little while. Then someone called for a song, and Dis got out her lute and began to play. Thorin got his harp, and the evening was passed, quite pleasantly, singing songs in the company of friends.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everybody!** **Hope you had a great holiday! Sorry about the break - things got away from me and then christmas and... well. But here I am again! **

**Sorry for the short chapter this time around - this came to me as I was making dinner. Please don't forget to leave a review! **

Dis hummed softly as she peeled apples for that evening's dessert. She enjoyed having a quiet house to herself – or, at least, to herself and Kili and Joli. Mali and Fili had been sent on their way to school this morning, and that meant only Kili and Joli to look after.

Kili had been wonderfully good with Joli – she was tiny for her age, even by dwarvish standards, and Kili had proven almost an older brother to her in his protectiveness. She often listened in on their childish conversations and the goings on in their favorite games, mostly which involved pretending to lay siege to some kingdom or other and rescuing the poor orphaned children kept prisoner by a band of terrible orcs.

At first Kili had insisted on rescuing Joli as the damsel in distress, but that meant that Joli could only stand in the corner and wring her hands while Kili brandished his little wooden toy sword, scrambling past orcs and falling bits of the castle by hopping from the couch to the easy chair in the sitting room. Without compatriots to help him besiege the castle, it all proved rather dull. So, Joli became his loyal assistant. And very handy with a sword she was, too, thought Dis, as Joli pretended to slaughter her way through a dozen foul goblins.

"We're nearly there!" called Kili. "You go on ahead- there's a few more orcs coming! I'll hold them off!"

"No!" Joli stoutly refused, "Not without you!"

"Haaa!" Kili slashed the air with his sword and dispatched a few more goblins, ducking behind a little wooden shield that Bofur had carved for him. It had been a birthday present.

"That'll show 'em!" he cried. "Come on!" He grabbed Joli's hand, and the two of them raced in a circle about the room, hopping up onto the couch.

"Look! I can see a door!" Joli cried. They both mimed opening the door.

"So. This is where you hide, you foul fiend." Kili growled, in the coldest tone of voice that Dis had ever heard.

If he had not been playing, Dis would have been alarmed.

"Oh, my darlings… come with me. it'll be alright now, shhh," Joli crooned, pretending to usher frightened dwarflings out of the foul tower in which they'd been imprisoned. She darted forward and picked up a doll, which she cradled in her arms.

"Shh, don't cry, baby. It's alright now. I've got you."

"I'll take care of this one," said Kili, frowning at the corner. As Joli fled, he began attacking the "orc" that was keeping the children prisoner.

With a savage cry, he severed the orc's head from it's body. He turned to Joli.

"Well. He won't be bothering them anymore."

"Oh no…" Joli wimpered. She pretended to look over the group of younglings, and her face went white.

"What?" kili asked, alarmed. Dis had only heard snatches of their conversation, and her mama-bear instincts went into high alert.

"These poor children… they're so sad. That foul orc was forcing them to sit at school for hours, day after day…" Joli said mournfully, in a tone people usually reserved for funerals.

"What's all this?" Dis asked, thinking that something was genuinely wrong.

"It's the children!" Joli said, sniffling a little.

"What? What's wrong? They're all fine!" Kili tried to assure her.

"But… that horrible orc… he… just like poor Fili and Mali…" she was a very good actor, Dis thought, catching on to the children's game; she looked to be on the verge of genuine tears.

Dis knelt and put her hand on Joli's arm to comfort her. Sometimes children's imaginations could run away with them.

"Joli, honey, it's just a game…"

"He was… he was making them do _sums_!" Joli wailed, burying her head in Dis' shoulder and pretending to sob as though her little heart couldn't bear the injustice.

Dis and Kili burst into peals of laughter. Joli raised her head and grinned mischievously. Dis threw back her head, laughing harder than she'd laughed in a long time. Which was saying something, with Fili and Kili for her sons.

"Oh, Joli. You are good," she said.

**So, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed Joli's sense of humor! Now, I do have a request to make: Please hop on over to my profile and take a look at my other stories: An Unexpected Burglar (Chapter 3 just posted!) and Relic. Make sure to leave a review and suggestions for future chapters! **

**Another quick request: I'm in the planning stages of a spinoff story regarding Fili, Kili, and Mali and Joli as a Post BOFA AU when everybody's grown up. I'm absolutely stuck in a rut, and need some ideas from you, lovely reader! If you've got ideas for things you'd like to see between the characters or suggestions for scenes of fluffiness, please write in and let me know! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Woohoo! A longer chapter today! As always please leave a review! **

Dis came in from gathering firewood and put a few more logs on the fire in the grate. There. That should hold against the bitter could. They'd last until dinner time when Thorin could come home and help stoke the fire again. The house was relatively quiet – only Kili and Joli in the house today; Mali and Fili had gone to their first fighting lessons with Balin that afternoon.

Kili had put up a fight when Fili left – he was big enough too, why should Fili go first, it wasn't _fair – _and Joli, in her quiet way, had shown her distress with wide eyes and a very furrowed brow indeed.

After the two older children left, Dis had been obliged to send Kili to his room to sulk by himself while she put stew together for supper and left it to simmer for several hours. As she began chopping carrots, she felt a slight tug on her apron. She looked down and saw Joli, who was watching her with wide, tearful eyes.

"When's Fili and Mali gonna come back?" she asked. Dis smiled down at her, and ran her hand gently over the dwarflings' curls.

"Yes, sweetheart, they'll be back today. When it's dinnertime, Mali and FIli will be home and you can play with them until your mam comes to pick you up. How does that sound?"

Joli gave her a worried look.

"Mali might get hurt," she said, so quietly it was almost a whisper. Her chin began to wobble.

Dis scooped her up and sat her on the kitchen table next to her.

"There now, don't cry, sweetheart," she said, rubbing Joli's back as she snuffled a bit.

"Mr. Dwalin and Mr. Balin will take very good care of her, and Fili. I promise you, there's nothing to worry about."

She gestured to the pile of carrots and potatoes.

"Would you like to help?"

Joli nodded and gave a watery smile. She liked helping Dis cook. She was allowed to nibble on bits of carrot or green beans, and sometimes, when they were making desserts, Dis would let her lick the spoon if there was nobody else around. Soon she was swinging her little feet, holding the big wooden bowl as Dis chopped carrots, the two of them singing a song, her childish, sweet little voice mingling with Dis' fine, rich alto.

"_Troll sat alone on his seat of stone,  
And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;  
For many a year he had gnawed it near,  
For meat was hard to come by.  
Done by! Gum by!  
In a cave in the hills he dwelt alone,  
And meat was hard to come by._

Up came Tom with his big boots on.  
Said he to Troll: 'Pray, what is yon?  
For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim.  
As should be a-lyin' in the graveyard.  
Caveyard! Paveyard!  
This many a year has Tim been gone,  
And I thought he were lyin' in the graveyard.'

Joli wondered who Tom was. Certainly he had big boots on, but Tom was rather a funny name.

Kili, who had decided that sulking wasn't much fun when he was alone, wandered into the kitchen.

"Whatcha doin?"

"We're making stew!" Joli offered him a bit of carrot. He Kili wrinkled his nose. Joli shrugged, and continued munching on her piece. Kili watched his mother preparing the meal, then looked at Joli.

"Wanna play in the snow?"

"Yeah!"

The two of them scrambled into boots, hats, coats, mittens, scarves. Dis let them out with a warning to be careful (Kili's "I _know_, Ahmad" earned him a rather stern glare).

Soon the two of them were hard at work building a snow fort. Kili declared himself head of the operation, while Joli was his loyal assistant.

Usually, this arrangement worked, but today Joli had decided to exert her independence.

"Why can't I be the boss? Why do I always gotta be the assistant? That's boring!"

"Because the boy is always the boss."

"Nuh-uh! My momma is the boss of us, that's what da says!" Joli crossed her arms with a huff.

"Well that's different. Boys always have to be boss of building stuff."

"That's not true!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!" Joli shouted, stamping her little foot for emphasis.

"is too!" Kili smirked back.

Inside, Dis heard raised voices and went to the kitchen window and watched the exchange, looking a bit worried. It wasn't like these two to quarrel. But she didn't intervene, waiting to see how the two would resolve it.

"You are no fair, Kili Durin! I'm just as good at building as you!" Joli shouted.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah!"

"Prove it!"

"FINE!" Joli bellowed.

Inside, Dis raised her eyebrows, then smiled wryly.

"Good girl," she said, to no one in particular.

* * *

Joli stomped over to the other end of the yard, and began building her own snowman. She scooped up bits of snow, making a ball. It wasn't fair – she was just as smart as Kili, just as good at things as he was. And it did get old, being bossed around all the time. Mali did get bossy sometimes, but she didn't mean to be. Usually her sister was good at listening.

She rolled the ball on the ground until it was the right size, then started on another ball. Her little face was flushed with anger and exhertion. She wiped a few errant tears from her face, but made sure she kept her back to Kili. She wouldn't let him see her cry – not when he'd been such a meanie…

She was just starting on making the head when a large shadow fell across the snowman. Joli looked up to see Thorin, the rightful King under the Mountain, looking down at her.

"Hello," he said. Joli looked up at him, and he saw her flushed face.

"Who's this fellow?" he asked, gesturing to the half-made snowman. His button eyes had been put in place, but were slightly wonky – one was lower than the other.

"It's Kili," she said stoutly. "When he's finished his face is going to be ugly and mean."

"Oh?"

Thorin knelt on the ground so that he was eye-level with Joli. He might be stern and imposing to the outside world, but once he was home and among his family or around little ones, he was far more pleasant to be around.

"Why's that?"

"Because the real Kili is ugly and mean!" Joli threw a fierce glare in Kili's direction, not at all caring that she'd just insulted the king's nephew.

Kili looked up, and glared back just as fiercely at Joli. He'd been making a snow-fort, but it had taken him ages. He was barely a quarter of the way done. If Joli had just listened to him, they'd have been done already and would have been able to have a snow-fight with Thorin and FIli once they'd gotten home. But no… stupid, stubborn dwarf lasses…

Thorin looked at Joli, then at Kili, then back at Joli. He decided that he would need to consult Dis.

He found her in the kitchen, stirring stew and slicing bread for dinner.

"Can you explain the fracas going on in our back yard?"

Dis smiled wryly.

"Joli seems to be educating Fili on what is and is not women's work."

Thorin raised an eyebrow.

"They had a disagreement about whether or not women could be head of a building project."

"But that's ridiculous! Our own Ahmad helped build half the tunnels at Erebor-"

"I know, Thorin. But Kili seems to think that Joli's role is his assistant."

"His loss – her snowman is coming along nicely."

"I agree." Dis laughed. "Oh, Thorin, you should have seen that girl earlier – she stomped her foot and shouted as good and loud as Grandahmad would have done."

"Good for her!" Thorin smiled. "I hate to say this, Dis, but as much as I love Kili, he can be a bit of an idiot."

Dis playfully punched his elbow.

"Rather like another dwarrow I know."

"You mean Ronan, right?" Thorin grinned.

Dis pretended to look affronted.

"_Excuse_ me, my Ronan was a _highly_ intelligent –"

"He got himself stuck in a tree a week before he married you," Thorin deadpanned.

"And since I wasn't allowed to see him for two weeks before the wedding, you were the one that had to talk him down!" Dis retorted.

The two of them laughed at the memory. They heard the front door creak open, and Fili and Mali came bursting in, cheeks and noses red with the cold. They heard Fili sneeze, and Mali blessed him politely.

They came bounding into the kitchen, hanging up their coats and scarves in the corner.

"How was training?"

"Fun!" Fili said. "We learned sword positions and Balin even let us hold a real one, but we had to be so careful, and –"

"It was so shiny!" said Mali. "It was really heavy too – Fili nearly dropped it!"

"So did you!" Fili retorted, but he smiled at Mali's gentle teasing.

"That's true," said Mali.

"Where's Kili?"

"Having a fight with Joli." Dis answered calmly.

"What? Why're they fighting?" Mali looked alarmed.

"Because Kili is a meanie. He says that only boys are good at building things," Joli announced from the doorway. She'd stayed out in the cold longer than she should have done, she knew, but she was determined to prove him wrong. Her nose was red with cold, and her cheeks were pink.

"Ah, just ignore Kee when he's bein' an idiot, Joli. I know I always do." He winked at her, and Joli cracked a smile.

"Hey!" Kili's outraged squawk made everyone turn. He was covered in snow from head to foot, and his teeth were chattering, and he looked very grumpy indeed.

Dis made him change clothes before he sat down to dinner.

As they ate, Mali and Fili chattered about what they'd learned at sword training that day, but Kili and Joli glared at each other over their bowls of stew. Mali tried helplessly to engage Kili and her sister in conversation, and Fili told jokes, trying to make them laugh. Nothing worked.

Fili, had long since learned that girls were not only entirely capable, but not to be goaded under any circumstances – Mali had utterly trounced him in their arithmetic lesson a few weeks before, and when he'd teased her about it, she'd challenged him to a contest – whoever could do the most amount of sums correctly won. Fili had walked away from the experience wiser and humbler; he'd also never forget that forty-eight plus eighty-two would, always and forever, equal a hundred and thirty.

Finally, the tension broke. Joli faced Kili directly and addressed him.

"You're a meanie," She said. Everybody turned and looked at her in shock. It wasn't like her to stay mad at anyone for this long, or to call anyone names, let alone Kili, whom she'd adored since she was an infant.

"Well, your snowman looks stupid!" Kili retorted.

"Kili! Manners!" Thorin said sharply.

"That's cos he looks like you!" Joli shot back.

"Joli, no fighting!" hissed Mali, distressed.

"Well at least when I make a snowman, I make him with the eyes on straight!" shouted Kili.

"At least when I make a snow fort, it doesn't take me hours and hours!"

"That's cos you always have help!"

"Yes I do – because I'm NICE to people!"

"I'm nice too!"

"No you're not – you're a meanie!"

"STOP!"

Both children turned and looked at Dis. She glared at both of them.

"Now. You will both explain what is going on and why you two are fighting. Kili, you go first."

"Joli used to like helping, but then she got bossy and wanted to do everything," growled Kili.

Dis looked at Joli. She was watching Kili, her brow furrowed.

"I wasn't trying to be bossy," she said. "I had ideas, but you wouldn't listen to them. I wanted to build the snow fort a different way."

"Why does it need to be different?" Kili shot back.

"Because…" Joli took a deep breath.

"Because I wanted to build a fort that looked like Erebor because my da had shown me a drawing but I kept giving ideas and you wouldn't let me say anything and I was mad because I thought it would be a good surprise for Mr. Thorin when he came home but you wouldn't let me explain it and I knew you wanted a snow fort so when I made suggestions you woulndn't let me do it different and then I got sad because I thought you didn't want me to help anymore!" Joli finished her explanation and burst into tears, shoving her bowl of stew away and laying her head on her arms, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

Kili got very quiet. He'd never seen Joli this upset before.

"Oh." Was all he said.

Thorin blinked. Joli had wanted to make a surprise for him? This was new. But he didn't have much time to think on this. Kili got off of his chair and walked around the table to stand beside Joli. He touched her arm gently.

"Sorry, Joli," said Kili quietly, and Dis knew he meant it.

But Joli kept crying – she'd fought with Kili, whom she loved playing with, and felt bad that she'd said mean things, but then he'd said mean things that hurt her feelings, and they'd made her say the surprise for Mr. Thorin, and now that everything was out in the open, it was just all too much.

"Joli, I'm sorry," said Kili, who was now starting to look panicked. "I was wrong -you can build things too! I'm sorry I said the snowman was ugly – he does kinda look like me when I'm grumpy; and you're right, it did take me ages to build the fort – please don't cry!"

His apology was so heartfelt, and so solemn; he looked near tears as well. Joli scrambled off of her chair and threw herself at Kili, hugging him. Thorin looked at Dis, who was looking just as bewildered as he was. Then, a loud sniff made everyone turn and look at Mali.

She was sitting in her chair, wiping at her nose, as tears streamed down her face.

"Why are _you_ crying!?" Asked Fili, totally bewildered.

"Cos they're crying! And I really don't like arguments!" she wailed, and buried her face in her hands.

It was Fili's turn to look panicky – Mali was his best friend in the world, besides Kili, and now she was upset.

Thorin and Dis looked at each other – there were now three sobbing dwarflings in their kitchen, and poor Fili looked as though he were about to join them from sheer bewilderment.

Thorin looked at Dis, now completely unnerved.

"What do we do?" he whispered.

It took everything within Dis not to laugh.

**So, what do you think? Poor, sad dwarflings... but hey, they say you're never really friends with someone until you've resolved an argument with them. And don't worry, it won't be all Kili/Joli fluff - some Mali/Fili stuff is coming too! **

**As always, you are welcome to write in with your thoughts and ideas for future chapters! **

**As for the new spin-off fic, I promise it's coming! I've got a few more hiccups to work out with the plot; I'm always open to suggestions/ideas for that fic too! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi everybody! Man, it's been a while since I've updated. Sorry about that – writer's block is brutal. **

**But I haven't forgotten this little collection of one-shots, and I've been plotting out the Mali/Joli spin-off. I know I keep saying chapters will pop up soon, but I promise they will! **

**As always, feel free to leave a review – I'd love to know what you think! What did you like about the chapter? Have suggestions for future installments? Send 'em my way! **

**Author's Note: I'm terrible with conversions, so I'm not certain how old our two beloved princes would be in dwarf years; in human years Mali and Fili would be around 8 and Kili would be 4 (and a half), while Joli would be three. **

* * *

Dis sat at the table, her brow furrowed as she went over the family accounts. They were making a tidy income through Thorin's forge, and Dis had begun selling eggs at the market every Saturday. If Thorin's usual traffic of customers held, they would be sitting comfortably enough that Dis could buy Fili that new leather grip for his training sword. If Thorin could take on special commissions, so much the better.

Suddenly Kili poked his head through the door.

"Mama?"

"Yes Kili?"

"Don't come in the kitchen," he commanded, his expression serious.

A pause.

"I beg your pardon?" Dis asked sternly.

"Don't come in the kitchen _please_?" Kili tried.

Dis crossed her arms. The last time he'd said something like this, there had been much giggling and shouting in the kitchen, and Dis had walked in to find both her boys in the middle of a food fight – with the raw eggs Dis had been planning to sell. Dis had spent the better part of two days cleaning raw egg off of the floor, walls, fireplace, cooking utensils, and even the ceiling. She'd commanded Thorin to give both of the boys a bath, and then sent them out of the house – "to prevent me doing something I'd regret," she'd said. Her voice had become very low and quiet, and if her eyes had been able to shoot sparks, the whole house would have been afire. Dis was very particular about her kitchen, and Thorin and the boys knew better than to say anything at that point.

"Don't come in the kitchen! We're not done yet!" Fili called.

"What have you two done to my kitchen!?" Dis demanded.

"Nothin'! we're makin' a surprise and you can't come in!" Kili answered back.

"_What are you doing_?"

"Amaaad, it's fiiine…" Kili protested.

"Fili,"Dis called, "come here please!"

Fili sheepishly came over to the door.

"Yes mama?"

"I want an answer. What are you two doing?"

"We're making a surprise for Thorin's birthday. I know he said he didn't want a party with lots of people but I wanted to make him something." Fili confessed.

"What are you making?" Dis asked.

"A cake."

Dis blinked. Neither of her boys had ever displayed an interest in baking.

"A cake?"

"Yeah. Mr. Bombur gave us a recipe, and we've been really good and really careful and read all the directions twice!"

"Three times!" Kili added helpfully. Both boys nodded.

Dis was struggling not to laugh. She didn't mind the boys wanting to do something special for their uncle; she'd been planning on whipping up something for him anyway. But the boys knew the rules about using fire. Fili would probably be trustworthy now, but Kili would get excited; and when Kili got excited….

"You both know the rules about using fire. If you two want to mix up the batter, I guess I don't mind; but you are to be neat, do you hear me? And let me know when you're done and I'll help you bake it."

"But…" Kili protested.

Dis quirked an eyebrow.

"Remember the frying pan incident?" Fili hissed.

Kili did remember the frying pan incident – he'd been rather impatient when his mother was making pancakes one morning, and when Dis' back was turned, put the whole pan of cakes straight into the hot coals. Immediately the cakes caught fire, and in a panic, Kili reached in to grab the pan and had burned himself on the hot handle.

After many tears and a long lecture from his uncle, Kili had gone to bed that evening a bit sniffly, with a bandage around his tiny hand.

He thought better of it, and he and Fili nodded.

"We'll tell you when we're done," Fili said.

"Thank you."

The boys went into the kitchen, and Dis settled back to the table. She tried to focus on the accounts, but couldn't help eavesdropping on what the boys were doing.

"Two eggs, Kee."

"Ok!"

"NO! Kili! Don't just drop them in shell and all…"

"Oops… sorry."

A sigh.

"it's ok."

A few minutes went by.

"Ok, now we need flour. Slowly, Kee…"

"Oops."

"Oh, now you've done it."

"I'll clean it up, promise!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Ok. Now raisins."

"Yum!"

"A few more… nah, add the rest. It'll be fine."

"Sugar now?"

"Yep."

There was a pause.

"Uh … Kili…."

There were whispers.

"How are you boys doing?" Dis called.

"Fine!" the chorused.

"Need any help?" she asked.

"NO!"

"Alright, alright…"

A few minutes later Kili poked his head through the door.

"Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"we're finished."

"Alright. Let's see what you've got here…"

Actually, it didn't look too bad – a bit on the lumpy side, maybe, and there were a few too many raisins, but on the whole it looked edible. Into the earthenware bowl it went, and Dis put on the heavy lid and set it in the embers to bake.

The kitchen had, by some miracle, remained relatively clean – only the boy's work space was messy – flour had been spilled, an egg had been dropped on the floor, and some milk sloshed over the table, but the boys had really been quite careful.

The rest of the day passed more or less uneventfully. Dis butchered, plucked, and prepared one of the older chickens who had stopped laying. It was a bit extravagant, but Dis felt it appropriate for her brother's birthday after all he'd done for her and the boys.

As they sat down to their meal that evening, Thorin quizzed the boys about what they'd done that day.

"We made a surprise!" Said Fili.

"With raisins!" crowed Kili, excited as ever about their coming treat.

"Kili!" fili shushed him.

"Raisins, eh?" Thorin smiled.

Dis brought the cake over and sat down.

"Happy birthday, Thorin!" she said.

"Happy birthday, uncle!"

"Yeah, happy birthday!"

Thorin smiled a bit lopsidedly, slightly embarrassed at being made much of.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Well, this looks good!" he said, picking up a knife. He cut large portions of cake for everyone, and picked up his fork.

"Bleeegh!"

"Fili! What is it!?" Dis asked, alarmed.

Fili was staring at the table, his expression one of shock.

"Fili, what's wrong, lad?" Thorin asked.

Fili spat out the cake and took a large gulp of cider.

"Kee… he gasped out.

"What?"

Dis tasted the cake and put her fork down.

"Boys, what did you put in the cake?" Dis asked.

"We…. We ran out of sugar…," Kili said in small voice, "and I went to look for more and I found…"

"Kee, did you use the canister with the woodcarving, or the blue glass one?" Fili said, panicked.

"…the blue glass one…"

"Oh no, Kili, that's salt!" Fili wailed. He stared at the table, his face turning red and tears filling his eyes. His uncle's birthday was ruined. It was his fault – he should have paid closer attention to Kili…

Kili looked near tears too – he was horribly embarrassed.

"m'sorry, Fee," he whispered. "m'sorry I ruined your cake, uncle…"

"Boys, it's alright," Thorin said kindly, "mistakes happen. And from what your mother tells me, you two were very neat and tidy when you made this."

"But it's RUINED!" Kili wailed. "I ruined it!" he buried his head in his arms.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Both boys sat up, wiping their red, tear stained faces.

Thorin answered it, and a huge cheer went up:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THORIN!"

A crowd had gathered: Mali, Joli, and their parents, Bombur, his wife who was holding an enormous cake; Bifur, and Bofur had come, Ori, Dori, and Nori were there too; Mr. Dwalin and Balin were grinning ear to ear, and Gloin and his wife, who was pregnant and looked ready to deliver any day…

Thorin smiled lopsidedly again.

"Friends… what's all this?"

"Surprise! It's your birthday, Mr. King Thorin sir!" Joli cried happily, launching herself forward and hugging Thorin without the slightest care for decorum.

"Joli, it's King Thorin," Mali whispered.

Joli ignored her.

"We brought a cake!"

"Yes you did!" said Dis, who had joined her brother in the doorway, "Well, get yourselves in, get yourselves in, it's cold out there! There's plenty of chicken and potatoes for everybody… oh, thank you for the wine, Bifur, this looks excellent… Dwalin, you leave that ax at the door, the little ones might hurt themselves…"

Dis caught Bombur as he made his way into the kitchen with the enormous cake. Bofur was right behind him, one eye on the tasty-looking confection.

"Thanks for saving the day," she smiled at him.

Bofur leaned conspiratorially towards Dis with a twinkle in his eye.

"How'd the lads do with their baking today?"

Dis grimaced.

"Salt instead of sugar."

Both brothers made sympathetic noises.

"Ah." Bombur nodded knowingly. "Easy mistake."

Meanwhile, Mali and Joli bounded over to their friends. Kili was still a bit red in the face, but Fili had become his normal cheerful self at the sight of visitors.

"What's wrong?" Joli patted Kili's shoulder, noticing he looked a bit gloomy.

"Made a cake for uncle and it went wrong," he said, scrubbing at his face.

"What happened?" Mali asked.

"Used salt instead-a sugar," he muttered.

"Oh dear," said Mali.

"Mali did that once," Joli piped up helpfully, "She put salt over the biscuits instead of sugar…"

"Joli! Shhh!" Mali hissed.

"What? They _were _yucky…"

"See, Fee? Lotsa people make that mistake," said Fili sagely. "And you didn't know any better, it wasn't your fault."

Kili scrubbed at his face again.

Joli hugged him.

"Don't be sad, please? It's birthdays today…" she said softly, looking up at him with a smile.

Kili grinned at her as she scrambled up on a chair next to him. Joli was awfully nice, even if she had called him a meanie once. But he'd deserved that.

Soon the entire kitchen was full of dwarves eating away to their heart's content. The children kept a beady eye on the cake, and Joli insisted that Thorin blow out candles before anyone got a piece. It was delicious – almond cake with cinnamon and sugar swirled in, with royal icing and sugared almonds on top – a very rare treat indeed.

The party lasted long into the evening, with drink, song, and storytelling flowing freely. After everyone had gone home, Thorin tucked the boys into bed while Dis cleaned her kitchen.

"Thank you for the surprise today," he said.

"But we didn't make the cake right," protested Kili, clutching his gray bunny.

"It was the thought that counts," said Thorin, pulling the covers up over his nephews.

"You wanted to do something nice, and even thought it didn't' come out how you wanted it to, it was still a very nice thing to do," he said.

"Well, all the same, I'm glad Mr. Bombur brought a cake," said Fili, who had himself indulged in two slices, and sneaked another half when his mother wasn't looking.

"yeah," Kili agreed, snuggling down into the pillows and yawning.

"It was a very nice thing to do."


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh, you guys... I'm so sorry I haven't written in a while. There's been some stress lately - looking for work takes a lot out of you, i tell ya. But anyways, here's a new chapter! Keep in mind, these little ficlets are by no means chronological - i simply write them as the ideas come to me. This particular chapter is heavily inspired by my own childhood - when I was three, I was terrified when my dad had to go away on business, because i thought that he stayed up all night and defended us from the horrid beasties that might want to eat us - never mind that we lived in the suburban midwest and that no bear or beastie of any sense was going to come within 50 miles of my house. Anyways. **

**Do please leave a review - I'd love to know what you think!**

Fili swung his feet under the table, chewing happily on his sweet potatoes. His ahmad had mashed them and mixed them with butter and some brown sugar – his very, very favorite. His peas, however, were left untouched. Peas were yucky, as everyone knew, but for some reason his ahmad always insisted that he eat them anyway.

He looked over at his brother, who was eagerly swallowing the spoonful's of oatmeal being fed to him by his mother, kicking his little feet enthusiastically between bites.

Thorin came into the kitchen and set his bag down by the door. The little family greeted him cheerfully, and Thorin cracked his first real smile of the day.

"How was the forge?" Dis asked him. She had been a smithy herself up until Fili was born, and Thorin knew she was starting to think of going back to work once Kili had grown a bit older. Ane had offered to care for the children on days when Dis worked, and Dis would care for the girls when Ane had to mind her fabric stall.

Thorin shrugged, non-committal.

"Better than it was. I think we're finally out from under Fenrir."

The man who had been pressuring Thorin and Dwalin to make him a sword had finally been brought to book – he now spent his days locked in the jail at Ered Luin for attacking a magistrate who had refused to give him information about his estranged wife and children. Compounded on his sentence were over thirty witnesses who saw the attack, as well as those who had come forward as witnesses to his abuse of his wife and children.

"Fenrir is bad, isn't he?" Fili piped up.

Dis and Thorin looked at each other. He'd been listening, apparently.

"He has done some very bad things, yes. But you know. I think Fenrir is very angry and sad about something," said Dis, "but he doesn't know how to talk about it to make himself feel better."

"What's he sad about?" Fili asked her.

"I don't know, and it's not my business to know," said Dis. "Whenever you see someone who is mean, there is usually a reason for the meanness. Maybe they're frightened or sad or angry about something. People are rarely cruel simply for the sake of it."

Fili mulled that lesson over for a while as he continued to eat his sweet potatoes. Dinner continued pleasantly for a while, and though Fili had given his mother his most charming smile and even pulled out his puppy-dog face, he was, in the end, forced to eat his peas.

As Thorin was clearing his plate, his conversation with Dis turned back toward the forge.

"I'll have to leave early tomorrow morning if I'm to get there by night fall."

"Yes," Dis said. "we've got some bread and cheese left in the larder, and some of those good apples Balin brought us. You're welcome to those."

Thorin thanked her and got up, helping clear the plates away.

"Where are you going, Uncle THorin?" Fili asked.

"I'm to deliver a set of knives to a magistrate in the next town."

"Is it far away? Can I come too?" FIli looked up at his uncle hopefully.

Thorin ruffled his nephew's hair.

"Sorry, little lion. It's too far away. You'll have to stay and keep your mama and brother company for me. I'll be back Monday night."

Fili blanched. If Thorin was gone, who would keep them safe? There were bears that lived in this mountain. He'd heard stories about bears – big, brown, with sharp claws and lots of teeth and a roar that was loud and very scary. They didn't come around very often, and the dwarves that lived at Ered Luin were sensible enough not to provoke them, but what if one of them decided they were hungry? Mama had Kili to look after, and Thorin, who was about the size of a bear himself, looked after Fili. If something went wrong, who would fight them? Fili didn't know how to fight yet.

"You can't!" he yelped suddenly. "You can't go!" he said stoutly.

"Fili, what's wrong?"

"Thorin can't go!"

Thorin frowned.

"Why? What's all this?"

Poor Fili looked panic stricken; his face had turned pink and he was near tears.

"If Thorin goes, who's gonna guard the house from bears?"

"Bears?" Dis asked, confused.

Thorin knelt down.

"What's amiss, little lion?"

Fili's face turned very red, and then he blurted out,

"If Thorin goes then the bears are gonna come because they're hungry and they'll eat me because mama has to look after Kili and Thorin has to look after me but if he's gone then he won't be able to! Thorin has to stay up all night after Kee and I go to sleep and guard the house from bears! It's what he does!"

He dissolved into tears, sobbing his poor little heart out because he was concerned and scared and terribly embarrassed because he was supposed to be _brave_ like Uncle Thorin.

Kili, who sensed that something was amiss, began crying himself. Fili was upset. And if Fili was upset, that meant something was very wrong indeed.

Dis threw up her hands in bewilderment, picked up her youngest, and looked at Thorin as though the two crying dwarflings were his fault.

Thorin, for his part, had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He didn't blame Fili for his fear – Frerin had been terrified of bears as a young child. It wasn't until he'd become friends with Dwalin that he'd been able to put his nerves behind him. He knelt down and gathered his little nephew in his arms and carried him to the bench near the fire, and sat down.

"Fili," he said, letting his nephew cry, "did you know that bears are more scared of you than you are of them?"

Fili hiccupped and looked up at his uncle.

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"You know something else?"

"What?"

"Your mama is one of the fiercest fighters I know."

Fili hiccupped.

"Really?"

"Yes, little lion."

"How do you –_hic-_ know?"

"Because of something that happened when you were very small…"

* * *

_Dis hummed to herself as she held the clothespin in her teeth, setting the sheet on the line. The fall air was crisp and clean, and the sun shone warm on her face. _

_Her newborn son slept in his basket a few feet away – Fili, they'd named him, after Ronan's grandfather. _

_He was such a good baby. Not that Dis was biased. He rarely fussed, except for when he was hungry or wet, and was perfectly content to lay cradled in arms or propped up on his father's knees, observing the world with quiet but keen interest. _

_He had nursed not half an hour before, and after two satisfactory burps, had settled down for a nap. He hadn't woken when Dis transferred him to his cot, and now slept soundly. _

_A low rumble sounded in the distance, and Dis looked up. There were no clouds. That was strange…_

_The rumbling again. closer this time. Dis turned, and nearly screamed out loud – a bobcat was crouched low to the ground by the wall of the house, it's tail twitching back and forth, looking for all the world as though it would pounce at any moment. It was staring at Fili in his basket. The baby slept on, blissfully unaware. The bobcat crept forward a couple of feet, then crouched low to the house again. _

_Thinking quickly, Dis moved her hand slowly to the knife at her waist. She eased it out of it's leather sheath, not wanting to alert the bobcat to her presence. She only had the one shot…. Aim carefully now… _

_The knife whistled through the air and embedded itself in the bobcat's front paw. It whipped it's head around and snarled, baring it's teeth, then turned and lunged at Dis, who let out a war cry and broke into a run, meeting it with full force. _

_There was a tangle of fur, hair, and limbs. Dis cried out as the claws scraped her upper arms and shoulders, but kept her hold around the beast's neck… and then… CRRAACK! _

_The bobcat collapsed to the ground, dead. Dis had broken it's neck. _

_Dis immediately went to her son and picked him up out of his basket. He was wailing now, more out of being startled by the bobcat's scream than any real fear. _

"_Fili!" Dis sobbed, cradling her son to her chest, wincing at the pain in her arms. "Fili, little lion…" _

"_Dis?"_

_She froze as she heard Ronan's voice. He was back from the carpentry shop. _

_He stepped outside the back door and stopped, taking in the scene before him – his sobbing wife, kneeling on the ground, holding a squalling baby in her scratched and bleeding arms, with a dead bobcat not ten feet away. _

"_Uh… Dis?"_

_She looked up at him, eyes wide and sparking with anger. _

"_It wanted Fili." _

_Her voice was hard and hollow. She looked back at the dead bobcat. _

"_It wanted our son." _

_Ronan gaped, piecing together what had happened. _

_He knelt down next to his wife, kissed her forehead and stroked the hair away from her temples. once Dis had stopped shaking, he gestured to the dead bobcat. _

"_What do you want done with it?" he asked quietly. _

"_Bury it. Burn it. Sell the meat. I don't care." _

_Ronan moved his hand to his wife's shoulder, helping her up. He noticed the deep scratches at her shoulders and upper arms and the blood staining her tunic. _

"_Dis, we need to clean you up," he said quietly. _

_Dis shook her head, wiping a bit of grime and blood off the baby's nose. _

"_Fili first." _

* * *

Fili stared up at his uncle.

"Did mama really do that?" he asked, wide eyed with wonder.

"Yes she did," said Thorin. "Your mama is actually a very fierce fighter," he added, deciding that a few of the other more fearsome stories of Dis' mother-bear qualities could wait as Dis came into the room, having put Kili down to sleep for the evening.

"Fili? Time for bed now. Say good night to your uncle."

Fili nodded, his tears gone now, and took his mother's hand and let her lead him to bed. He snuggled down into the bedclothes, pulling the blankets up under his chin. He would be safe with his Ahmad. Suddenly, a thought struck him.

"Mama?"

"Yes, darling?"

Dis came and sat on the bed, and smoothed the hair back from her firstborn's forehead.

"Is the pelt that's on your bed – is that from the bobcat?" Fili asked, playing with the clasp at the end of his mother's long braid.

Dis looked surprised.

"Who told you about the bobcat?"

"Uncle Thorin."

Dis smiled.

"yes, it is, Fili. It's a reminder to myself to always keep you and Kili safe."

"Especially Kili," said Fili, rolling his eyes, "cause he likes to make messes."

Dis laughed, kissed her firstborn good night, and blew out the candle.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi everybody, **

**I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long. There's been a lot going on in my life - I've finally landed a full-time job in the field i went to school for, so that's been a huge blessing. Additionally, there's a bit of sad news to report: in July my grandfather was diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer that had metastasized into this abdomen, and over the next three months we walked him through the last days of his life. He passed away peacefully in his sleep this past Monday, and the family has been busy preparing funeral arrangements and seeing to getting his affairs in order. **

**Inspiration, apparently, strikes in the most unlikely of places - so, here's a chapter for all of you. It's not quite the normal serving of fluff and sweetness you're probably used to, and there's a reason for that. I do focus more on Fili and Kili in this chapter since it's about learning about the grieving process. **

**Also, as a quick side note: there are tons of resources for any of you who are going through grief yourselves - be it through a death in the family, a breakup, a falling out, whatever - please don't think that you have to go through this alone. **

**Thank you all for reading - reviews and feedback are always welcome! **

Kili sat at the kitchen table, watching as his mother prepared supper. Cheese, sausages, bread, and apples were on the menu - Dis had come home looking very tired and didn't return his hug when Kili greeted her. Uncle Thorin was outside getting wood for the fire, and Fili was helping to carry plates over to the table.

Fili came into the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?"

"Food," said Dis, in a rather more clipped tone than she had meant to.

Fili gave her a look and started to answer back, but Dis held up her hand.

"Don't even start."

Thorin came in through the back door, and went over to the fire.

"Lads," he said, "come give me a hand."

"Why's mama mad?" Fili asked.

"It's nothing you did," Thorin answered. "She's sad for her friend, Ane."

"What happened? Is she ok?"

"Ane's father went to Mahal's halls yesterday," Thorin said quietly. "He'd been ill for a long time. Very seriously ill."

Fili paused.

"Oh... so that's why Mali wasn't at lessons with Balin today."

Kili trudged over and flopped down on the floor next to where Thorin knelt, stoking the fire.

"Mama's grumpy," he pouted. "It's not fair, I didn't do anything!"

"Your mother is sad, Kili," said Thorin.

Behind them they heard a great clanging of pots and slamming of cupboard doors.

"She doesn't seem sad," Kili pointed out dryly.

"Sometimes sad doesn't mean crying," Thorin said. "Sometimes people show that they are upset in different ways."

"Why is she sad?" Kili asked, pushing himself up onto his elbows.

"Mali's grandfather died," Fili said.

"Oh."

"Your ahmad sat with Ane all night," said Thorin. "Her father was sick for a long time, and his illness caused him to hurt a lot."

Fili chewed his lip.

"I'm sorry for it," he said. "He was nice."

This was true: Fili had met him once, before Kili was born, when he was visiting Ered Luin. He'd bought all the children sugared apples.

"But why is mama sad?"

"Because Ane is your mother's best friend," Thorin explained, "and she grieves to see her friend so sad."

"What's grieve?" Kili asked.

"Grief, it's how you work through being sad. At first you might be sad all the time, but eventually you aren't sad so often, and it gets easier," Thorin tried to explain.

Kili thought for a moment, and then said bluntly, "we don't have a grandpa."

Thorin was too surprised to speak.

"No, but we had an Adad, and you know what it was like when he died," Fili said quietly.

Kili did know. Sometimes he felt sad that his Adad wasn't there to play with him. it was odd - he'd been at the market with Fili and his mother, and had seen Mr. Bombur with his children, laughing and buying them treats. He'd suddenly felt very angry, and then inexplicably burst into tears right there int he market.

It hadn't been a tantrum, and Dis knew it. She carried Kili home and sat with him until he was calm, and they stayed like that until suppertime when Kili felt better. And then, a few days later, it was Fili's turn: a squabble over a toy turned into a blazing shouting match, which turned into a sudden burst of tears, out of the blue - and Fili almost never cried. While Dis settled the dust from the fight, Thorin had taken him out to the field behind their house and sat with him for a long time - even after it had gotten dark. Fili never told Kili what he and Thorin had talked about, but he seemed to be better after that.

Fili thought for a moment.

"We grieved, didn't we, Thorin? For Adad?"

"Yes, Fili. And sometimes you will grieve still, even when you're grown."

"Did you grieve your Adad?" Kili peered up at him.

"I still do," Thorin answered honestly.

"And Frerin?" Fili added.

Thorin nodded, swallowing at the strange tightening in his throat.

"And our Adad?" Kili asked.

"Every day."

"How do you make yourself better?"

"You don't, really," said Dis from the doorway.

They all turned and looked at her. She'd heard the whole conversation.

"Sometimes the best thing to do is to let yourself be sad," she said, coming to sit down in the rocking chair. She wiped her eyes of a few stray tears, and smiled as her boys came pelting toward her, throwing themselves into her arms and giving their mother the biggest hugs they could muster.

Over tangled brown and black hair, Dis and Thorin shared a look. Grief was part of living - they didn't need anyone to tell them that. But the two small dwarflings in Dis arms did much to ease the ache.


End file.
